To: The NYT Editorial Board:
What a shameful display of partisanship at a moment calling for gracefulness. No it's NOT difficult to give a reprise to the hateful Trump bashing.
Yesterday's 800+ such insults in response to your Cohen piece wasn't enough? You habe sunk to a new low!
Your Public Servant essay called the deceased U.S. President "clumsy," " goofy, and "hapless." After begrudgingly crediting 41 with accomplishments in the next paragraph you indicate anyone else in White House probably could have done the same.
After acknowledging his winning the first Gulf war you again criticise him for "shamelessly" cultivating Hussein. Then, while your there, you take a gratuitous swipe at George W for Iraq.
As someone once said: "Have you no shame" ?
In your description of the late President's downfall if you substitute the words "frustrated concerns" for "their fear" and "MAGA" for "vision" you would have accurately described why Donald A Trump is the President today.
What an irony!
1
The legacy of the two bushes is anywhere between 500,000 and 1 million deaths in iraq and syria. It was all for oil and weapon sales.
2
Read Colin Powell's book. George H.W. Bush didn't bother to consult with his advisors, notably, the National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and others before committing the U.S. to an ill-fated, illegal, unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country (Iraq) after this own Department of State said in a cable to the then U.S. ambassador that the U.S. takes no position in quarrels between Arab states (Iraq and Kuwait) effectively giving Saddam the green light to invade. Upon hearing the news of the invasion, President Bush made his statement "This shall not stand" similar to the statement made by the then British Foreign Minister while a President Bush was a student at Phillips Andover. Bush acted impulsively, committed us to actions which haunt us to this day, and worse, devastated a country likely not to recover for decades. The first Gulf "War" gave us al Qaeda for the offense of staging operations from Saudi Arabia, leading to 9/11, and then his son's 'war on terror' (interpreted in the Arab World as a war on Islam) rather than a prosecution against a criminal conspiracy. His legacy was to bequeath to his dimwit son Cheney and Rumsfeld who, together, lied their way to a second Gulf "war". His legacy? Look no further than the Middle East today.
4
I do believe that if Mr. Bush had been a Democrat the editorial would have been all sweetness and light, instead of snarky and petty. Would it be too hard for the NYT, in death, to emphasize the decency and goodness of this man and leave out his mistakes ("he who casts the first stone")? After all, you have documented his presidency in past issues. Just be nice for once.
5
War survivor, competitive athlete, oil man, politician; read war hero, talented player of games, successful business man, power seeker; these aptly describe the man, his mistakes and accomplishments must be viewed and judged within the settings in which they are said to have occurred. These settings are likely all fraught with controversy, and equally likely are not all really subject to objective scrutiny; the fact that he was the CIA director confirms that. For me, the summer of '88 was a turning point--the arguably intentional shooting down of Iran Air 655 by the USS Vincennes which was characterized by President Raegan and Vice President Bush as a tragic accident. That is the Fogarty Commission's opinion. I think it was candidate Bush who indicated that he would never apologize for the U.S., and indeed at the U.N. he did not, vowing, however, to compensate the families of the deceased for their loss. That was done; 5 months later the Pan Am 103 debacle occurred, more than likely a direct response to July3,1988. Libya compensated the affected families over the years with over 1 Billion Dollars, a relatively huge amount, especially since there was no direct proof that Libya was involved. History will record former President Bush's record of public service as stellar. The amount of action involved in it should be taken into account, and probably, some greatness should be attributed to him. Let us remember him as a markedly capable servant.
6
I was a local TV reporter in Sarasota Florida (six months out of college) when I met George H.W. Bush five days before he won the VP position. It was at the Sarasota airport and the national press corps was chasing him down the tarmac wanting to ask him questions about Iran. I was a "one man band" while all the other cameramen had reporters with them from DC and NY. The local TV station was scheduled to get a one on one with him so I was the one to get the interview. I remember setting up the camera and then candidate Bush helped me with it. He even told one of his assistants to run it for me as I asked him questions during my five minute interview. He was gracious and kidded me about having to do all the work by myself. I still asked him about the Iranian hostages and he gave a response. At the end of the interview he even waited while I checked the tape to make sure I had all that I needed before saying good bye. Leaving me he also praised me for my work ethic. I'll never forget that encounter. I now realize he thought I was an easy interview versus the national press corps. When I got back to the station the New Director was stunned I got an exclusive interview with the vice presidential candidate days before the election.
Later in life I also met other members of the Bush Family. Babs was my favorite. But 41 made me feel as a young journalist that I was worthy.
R.I.P. "Old Man".
22
Although I disagreed with Mr. Bush politically, I had the good fortune to meet him at the 1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego. I was there as part of a group of Baseball officials escorting the President and his good friend, Hall of Famer and San Diego native Ted Williams who was throwing out the first pitch during the pre-game ceremonies. At the time, Mr. Bush was in the midst of a heated Presidential campaign. As Mr. Bush escorted Ted Williams to the pitcher's mound for the first pitch, boos rained down from the crowd and I remember thinking at the time, "It's a baseball game. Is it really necessary to boo the President?" After coming off the field and while waiting for the National Anthem to be played, he deadpanned to an aide, "Gee, I wonder why they booed Ted so much." Everyone doubled over with laughter and he offered just a wry smile. The photo of me and President Bush from that visit hangs proudly on the wall of my home to this day.
41
We are all flawed in some manner and George H W Bush was no exception, but you always had the impression that even if he did something you completely disagreed with, that he was trying to do what he thought was prudent (an often used catch word in Dana Carvey's impressions of him). Most people rarely were under the impression that his main focus was personal gain or self aggrandizement, characteristics that almost define modern politicians. Warts and all, I suspect history is likely to judge him kindly.
42
@Kevin
The road to Hades is paved with good....
I never voted for George Bush, but respected his sincerity, although I was saddened that he proved himself to be just another politician by allowing his campaign to be guided by soulless political hacks.
Bush Sr. is the last statesman-president. His resume of governmental roles is light years above those of Clinton, his son, Obama, and especially the empty one of the Potentate of Hate.
In so many ways, George H.W. Bush is the antithesis of Trump, an elegant, respected world leader, known for his perceptions, honest promises and vision.
Considering the numerous flaws of the current WH occupant, the eulogies for Poppy will hold great importance for a country riven by the disgrace we've been living in for two years.
53
I’m a Democrat. President H.W. Bush was a Republican. But I never, ever felt he didn’t care about me.
And in these times to have thoughts and beautiful memories like that means a lot.
May he Rest In Peace. Sincerest condolences.
90
I applaud him for raising taxes and breaking his pledge. Circumstances changed - a war was fought and won and needed to be paid for. But the "Freedom Isn't Free" crowd of elites and their fodder did not want to pay for it. And that has continued through today. That was a watershed moment in the elite right's sociopathic "all tax is theft" platform. And the lower through upper middle class has been paying for it since. Less services, poor infrastructure, rising wealth disparity, crushing student loan debt, bankruptcy from healthcare costs, etc.
131
@Paul I'm glad you mentioned the not raise taxes pledge. It is my understanding that the tax increase set the stage for economic growth under President Clinton. (not that I want to diminish the efforts of President Clinton regarding the economy)
15
You all seem to be true business men.
Every American owes a debt of gratitude to the brilliant, imperfect leadership of George H. W. Bush. While I disagreed with many of his actions and positions, it was the last time the Republican Party had an occupant of the White House with the experience needed to lead a nation like the United States. It was also the last time a Republican president understood what it meant to represent our entire nation. He did that and more, and I thank him for his service.
183
@David R I, as well as millions of poor hard working Americans, don't owe him anything. He was obsequious to the corporate interests that put him in power just as much as Clinton was after him. There's been a relentless assault on labor, public institutions, the environment.... any progressive causes and gains we've made and had to die and fight for over the last century -
and these assaults, ever since the ruling classes were forced by FDR to make cocnessions during the great depression in order to save capitalism and fend off socialism, continue to this day.
Bush, let alone his son, didn't do anything to help the common man,woman,or child. Just because he adhered to politcal decorum, unlike the clown we have now, doesn't make him a great man.
I'm not happy he passed, I just don't think I or many millions of Americans who continue to suffer, particularly since the 70s, owe him anything.
9
@David R
Black African Americans owe no debt of gratitude to the man who cursed them with Clarence Thomas and Lee Atwater. God's judgment on Bush.
9
@David R- nothing brilliant about the 1st gulf war, Clarence Thomas nomination, coddling big corporations, WTO and NAFTA. ALL blunders and we are suffering for it to this very day.
3
There is a fairly strong case that he either shot Kennedy or was there managing the assassination.
Really? Come on, man. We just lost a former President and all the New York Times can do is continue to complain about the current President. Can't you find the common decency to set it aside for a day? That's very disappointing.
5
While H.W. was president, I saw a man tell his son that someday the boy might be president.
Yes, Trump is different president. Thankfully.
1
Hagiography seems to be the go-to response to the deaths of high level war criminals & mass murderers.
First, John McCain, who made his name by bombing civilians in Vietnam, and now GHW Bush, whose thirst for power allowed him to abandon the accurate "voodoo economics" description of Reagan's horrifically damaging policies & then participated in the Iran-Contra crimes that led to so many deaths in Nicaragua & the illegal provision of arms to Iran. All of this ended with Bush pardoning the convicted conspirators & getting away, unindicted, from his own actions.
More at https://consortiumnews.com/2018/12/01/the-bushes-fathers-and-sons-with-apologies-to-turgenev/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Contra_affair
3
The Times bashed Bush routinely during his presidency. Now that he's dead the Times claims his best achievement was building on the foreign policy of the Reagan years, "a path to peace"--policies that the Times criticized everyday then until today when this grudging admission is announced in an obit/editorial. Wow.
4
Multiple comments and replies by Blackmamba and others - yet just a few by me since yesterday morning and not a single one has yet to make it in. ???!!!
I never agreed with HW politically, but always respected him. Two racially motivated moves on his part stand out to me: The appointment of Clarence Thomas to SCOTUS and Willie Horton. In both cases he could really have done better but chose otherwise. He only made race relations in the US more polarized. With Thomas still on the court with all his guilt and lies, HW's legacy will be tainted for a long time to come.
2
The NY Times celebrates the Willie Horton president. How can you then oppose racism? The Trumpian variety is not so very different from the Bush one. Lies about war and support for foreign devastation--not on a George W Bush or Trump scale but still. A real liberal would have been far more critical of Bush.
1
the bush dynasty goes back to ghwb's dad. the bush dynasty caused the whole florida mess in 2000.
1
Change the headline to: "George H.W.Bush, servant of big corporations in particular Big Oil". A public servant serves all. He never did. The 1st Gulf War, we are still paying for that mess today, mainly from terrorist acts(Al -Qaeda was born). He started negotiations for NAFTA and WTO. He softened the blow for Exxon/Mobile when their ship EXxon Valdez hit a reef and spilled 11 million gallons of oil into the sea off of Alaska. He hamstrung the EPA, worse than what Trump is doing today. He nominated Clarence Thomas to pacify the right wing of his party. Please stop romanticizing this guy. Oh my, how memories fade and history is rewritten. I understand how we as a species keep on repeating the same mistakes over and over and not learning from the past....because it's too much trouble to do so.
3
"But one big reason for Mr. Bush’s precipitous fall was Mr. Bush himself, chiefly his inability to convince Americans that he understood the depth of their fears or could summon up a coherent plan for addressing them." Odd that the NYT can say this about Bush but not about Clinton. Instead, we are offered all this rubbish about the deplorable racists that Americans have become, and how, according to Streisand, American women are nothing but slavish servants of their sexist husbands. We point to Bush as a great public servant, but we never look at those who say they admire him and ask why their behavior so radically deviants from his example. McCain for example deplores divisiveness and then forbids Trump's presence at his funeral. All we hear is name-calling and insults directed at the American people by the press, beginning with the NYT, by former Presidents such as Obama and by aging, washed-up stars. We need to admit that like Bush, a fine man, the American people simply did not have confidence is the alternatives before them. We voted for hope and change, as ever.
1
This is a moment to remind ourselves of Pres George Herbert B.'s contributions that positively impacted lives of millions around the World.After the Generation that repulsed the Italian colonialist aggression at Adwa (Northern town in Ethiopia ),in 1896, the other 2 greatest generations are those who resisted Fascist Mussolini's aggression in mid 30s and the one that comprises 60's and 70's youth + intellectual activists (am part of).The last ones were the ones on whom the most brutal repression was directed at:Almost 2/3 of Univ students of the time have perished.When those who joined the underground resistant movement fought the Soviet backed regime as hard as they could and their #s dwindled many fled to Neighboring Sudan,Djibuti,etc..this was in early 80s.But,US Admin swiftly evaluated asylum claims gave them refuge in the US ( a process managed by Pres GHB's leadership).Most,have wisely used this 2nd chance in life,went on becoming successful Academics,Science or other professionals and made and continued to make contribution in rebuilding their native land.They are also valuable citizens of US too.Since these rescued were part of the persecuted best and the brightest and future assets of their struggling country GHB's contribution is one with great weight.So,GHB is appreciated,deservedly,way beyond US's border too and similarly I am sure the loss is felt with in comparable dimension.RIP,pres GHB.TMD.
1
Even in death, the NYT cannot find magnanimity. The elder Bush was probably the most experienced President we've had in the last 50 years. He understood foreign policy well and he navigated the country and the world with deftness as the Soviet Union crumbled without violence. I didn't like the Willie Horton thing at all; in fact I hated it. But he wasn't alone in dirty tactics which doesn't absolve him but makes him one of many.
And how lopsided was the 1992 loss, NYT, when the winner didn't even get 50% of the vote and you fail to mention that a third party candidate ran.
And please don't advertise yourself NYT as a source of truth.Your bias finds its way into your articles, your headlines, and your opinions from page 1 to the end.
4
December 1, 2018
R.I.P. President G. H. W. Bush – Will always be a great hero to and for America’s world’s Freedom that we love and enjoy protecting universal peace.
JJA, Manhattan, N.Y. – Vietnam Veteran and Registed Republcian – not vote was for HRC.
1
December 1, 2018
R.I.P. President G. H. W. Bush – Will always be a great hero to and for America’s world’s Freedom that we love and enjoy protecting universal peace.
JJA, Manhattan, N.Y. – Vietnam Veteran and register Republican – vote was for HRC.
1
After Looking at Trump- even with all his warts GHWB looks like George Washington...
1
In April 17, 2010 on “Fox News” of all places, President George H.W. Bush, speaking on the reasons for the end of the Cold War, and after being goaded by the interviewer to claim that the decision to deploy Pershing missiles to Europe brought down the Soviet Union, answered with exceptional integrity: "But Gorbachev, with his Perestroika and Glasnost, carried the day. And if it was not for his vision it would not have happened."
By then, the Gorbachev’s anti-nuclear humanity-saving revolution (made possible with the help of Reagan and Bush) and his fragile Universalist vision were already waning. Nevertheless, Bush’s valiant adherence to the historical truth and his anti-triumphalism stand may survive as a seed for future hope. And no, “these transforming events” most likely wouldn’t have occurred if some other president (the idiot G. H. Bush or the politically-expedient Obama, for example) had occupied the White House -- at the end of the last century, he was the best (prudently visionary) statesman to emerge out of American conservatism.
2
Interestingly, no mention made of his time as head of the CIA...
2
"De mortuis nil nisi bonum." Of the dead say nothing but good.
For all his faults, GHW Bush understood the importance of the Presidency, both to the American people, and the world. Rest in peace.
1
"....it is difficult not to take note of the profound differences between the 41st president of the United States and the current occupant of the White House, Donald Trump."
Right. Bush was mentally stable. The other is a sociopath.
When will The Times stop talking about Traitor Trump as if he's a human being with a unique personality?
One of our greats has passed. Although a man of a bygone era, H.W.'s legacy of service, decency and competence will forever live on in our history.
I did not always agree with his politics, but I voted for him nonetheless. He was a good, strong, smart, thoughtful, qualified, selfless, compassionate American who deserved to occupy the office of the President. He dedicated his life to public service - the noblest of causes.
H.W.'s passing saddens me more than I had imagined, for we are left with the worst of humanity disgracing his chair and destroying all for which Bush fought so gallantly. Not a public servant, a puerile overweight child with no understanding or care for his probably ill-gotten office, a predator and liar of the first magnitude, a grifter, a philanderer and a traitor - just to name a few of his better traits. At least I am assured that upon Trump's passing there will be no mourning on his long ride DOWNWARD to his final residence. Perhaps there will be a 1/2" obit on page 65 of some failed Republican propaganda trash sheet.
Remember this when Trump is impeached for high crimes, and contrast it to H.W.'s stellar legacy. Perhaps then you will understand what you have done to this nation. Obviously you ignored John McCain, another great. You know who YOU are!
1
Remember history anyone?
What I think of when I think of this entire family:
Prescott Bush worked for and profited from businesses (Brown Brothers Harriman, UBC) which gave rise to the Nazis. "George Bush's grandfather, the late US senator Prescott Bush,...business dealings, continued until his company's assets were seized in 1942 under the Trading with the Enemy Act...."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/25/usa.secondworldwar
George H.W. Bush threw away the lessons of Vietnam, and shared with the Bin Laden family an interest in the Carlyle Group—the private equity firm which is the eleventh largest defense contractor in the US.
https://www.quora.com/Did-Bush-Sr-really-meet-with-Bin-Ladins-brother-at-the-Ritz-Carlton-for-brunch-on-9-11
Dubyuh, who did indeed go AWOL, and his brother Jeb stole the White House in 2000. 2004 is questionable as
well—good to see Corsi, who never served, getting his desserts finally. We'll never know what happened on 9/11. Put that in the file with "grassy knoll."
Even now, Erik Prince and the Carlyle Group are looking to profit— from war and death.
What we can do for ourselves is see clearly. No hagiographies outside of church, no celebrity glossies. No making the flag into a religious symbol. You want to worship—go to church. The only moral president of my lifetime has been Jimmy Carter. And he is still a man. A man. If any of them deserved canonization, he would.
Let's just see clearly. The planet needs us to do so.
3
History will not be kind to this man who foolishly used the word liberal as an epithet, thus bringing the thuggish Evangelical know-nothing forces to take over his party lock, stock and barrel.
1
This reader thinks it interesting that the NY Times, which had virtually nothing good to say about President George H W Bush now wants to canonize him.
1
Why am I not awash in tears for Bush 41?
His Nazi Dad? His financing and gun running in the Bay of Pigs invasion? His participation n the assassination of JFK? (yeah, I'm going there). His involvement in Watergate? His "October Surprise" that toppled Carter? His role in the Iran Contra Scandal? His invasion of Iraq, Part One? His elevation of Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld and the military industrial giants they represent to the highest levels of power?; His torrid romance with the Saudi Royal family, including the Bin Ladens, that still resonates the headlines today? His moron puppet of a son?
Or the Franklin Bank child prostitution ring he patronized, that briefly flashed in the headlines before being buried forever?
I have no doubt that history - when it is finally freed from censorship and revision - will show George Herbert Walker Bush as one of the most evil men ever.
Rather than watch the tributes and funeral pomp and circumstance on CNN, why not read "Family of Secrets" by Russ Baker.
https://www.amazon.com/Family-Secrets-Americas-Invisible-Government/dp/1608190064?fbclid=IwAR39DNy9O3w9GZU0hxeFopd-SfvvjQzUiaT_Bha7vKx4zsNl-_PH_Bk9nKw
3
George H.W. Bush: Public Servant
Donald J. Trump: Public Profiteer and Exploiter
Mitch McConnell: Loyal Toady To Public Exploiter
—
George H.W. Bush: Eminently Qualified and Experienced
Donald J. Trump: Willfully Ignorant and Functionally Illiterate
—
George H.W. Bush: Patriot
Donald J. Trump: Russian Complicit Enabler
—
My God! How things have changed!
1
Bush vs Trump: Bush pardoned 6 of his Iran-Contra cronies. Trump has some catching up to do.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/29/reviews/iran-pardon.html
3
41 has passed.
And with him,
Memories of
Comrades then not so blessed
Comrades who went to their rest
So many, many years before him.
41 never forgot.
Millions fought and millions died
Preserving much more than American pride
Evil’s blanket spread far and wide
Til defeated by the comrades of 41.
So, now as we say farewell,
As we listen to the funerary bell
May we salute those who suffered hell==
Those comrades of 41.
41 would not forget.
Lawrence Walsh, the special prosecutor of the Iran-Contra investigation on George Bush:
“Bush 41's pardons of his own close aides, several of whom had been convicted of lying to investigators, "demonstrates that powerful people with powerful allies can commit serious crimes in high office -- deliberately abusing the public trust without consequence."
https://archive.org/stream/WalshReport/Walsh Report volume 3 Comments and Materials Submitted by Individuals and Their Attorneys Responding to Volume I of the Final Report_djvu.txt
3
The Times hated him as a dastardly Republican (like it did McCain) while he was alive...and now we'll get endlines lines of praise for him that he's dead. How he was so civil and bipartisan...funny how the hard-left only loves Republicans when they're dead...that's how they help elect nationalists like the President we have today.
1
Finally it becomes crystal clear: Trump has but one purpose and that's to make mediocre Presidents like Bush 1 and Bush 2 look like giants of world history.
Trump owes the Bush boys at least that for pioneering the ugly racially-charged ad hominem campaign tactics of the Machiavellian Lee Atwater and turbocharging it with narcissistic swagger and fascist brio to gatecrash the White House.
Only the extreme chaos and tumult of Trump and his minions can make either Bush with their entourage of Cheney, Sununu, Rumsfeld, Dan Quayle, Gerald Ford, et.al look moderate and admirable.
Trump disease is pandemic because our political immune system was weakened by the the Bush virus. We're careening down Trump's highway to hell because George H.W. Bush took a hard right turn to reach the White House.
Only because Trump is the apotheosis of crass is it at all possible for Bush 1 to be regarded as class.
2
"Iraq's aggression in the Persian Gulf"? Kuwait, goaded by Washington, was stealing oil from a disputed island between them.
As to Russia, it was the Bush administration's (along with the Clinton's) lackadaisical approach in the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union that allowed a lawless, kleptocratic nation to emerge that ushered in Putinism, something both the Bushes and the Clinton's, and, one assumes, The Times, have come to regret.
Interesting that we forget that he was a businessman—an oil businessman in far off west Texas from his Greenwich roots—before he got into politics. However, his father was a Senator from Connecticut when he was young; and if I remember correctly, a moderate Republican.
He was a man of manners, as I saw in his visit to Algeria, when I was working in the U.S. Embassy and he shook the hand of every employee—American and local—at a “meet and greet” event. Having already been the U.S. Representative in China, he had absorbed how important such a gesture meant to those working for the US in far-off places.
He did the right and prudent thing over Kuwait, which, alas, was upended by his son, who was guided by warhawks such as Cheney and Rumsfeld and their ilk.
I don’t know much of his post-Presidential years, unlike those of Jimmy Carter (so productive).
@luckycat The "man of manners" was commander-in-Chief when US bombs fell on civilian targets in Baghdad, and when US warplanes attacked retreating and surrendering troops on the road to Basra.
I can never forgive Bush #41 for appointing Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Started down the road to politicizing the court.
1
@Dennis You seem to imply that the Bork nomination farce was unrelated to politicization of the court.
1
There's a lot we who remember can say about George H W Bush.
In the 1988, ex-con Willie Horton and campaign manager Lee Atwater - a man so vile, even God didn't let him finish Bush's term.
"The little brown one" he said referring to Jeb's son George P Bush.
"Read my lips: No new taxes" and then there were new taxes.
His not knowing the price of milk and his failure to support the Family Medical Leave Act were a big factor in his failure to be re-elected.
Saddam Hussein attempted to have him killed and that was the REAL reason for the family feud known as the Iraq War in 2003 after George W. Bush became president.
But the thing that most disturbs me about President Bush was his lack of support for the changes happening in Russia after the end of the Soviet Union. The US should have been more engaging and help incorporate Russia into the West, but it was "not prudent at this juncture". (No one said "juncture" before Bush. No one.) Nixon was vocal that Bush was making a mistake and the result was that Russia stumbled and America was arrogant and this led to many in Russia to miss the Soviet Union. This would all lead to autocrat Putin and now, in many ways, things are worse for America with Russia then they had been with the Soviet Union. I sincerely believe that Bush's mistake on this one issue is a significant reason we now have the current situation in Russia and now have Putin's puppet Trump as President.
Still, I will miss President Bush. He was a decent man.
1
By no stretch of the imagination could George H.W. Bush ever have been Individual No. 1 in a criminal investigation. That alone honourably distinguishes him from 45.
How will history judge Pence, McConnell, Ryan, Graham, Nunes et al, who went va banque in support of Trump?
Oh for the days when a president actually had the countries best interest in mind with every thought and deed. Oh for the days when we were not embarrassed every time the president spoke on the public stage and we knew he was not compromised by a foreign adversary. George H.W Bush was NEVER someone I would have voted for, not in a million years, but he did try to make America a better place and that was never in doubt. What a contrast he was to the foul, nasty, lying little stable genius.
1
How odd that a screaming mediocrity like G.H.W. Bush could now be revered. All a function of what followed that he bubbled up like this.
I recall in the summer of 1988 are the US had shot down an Iranian airliner, Bush was running for president as the sitting VP. He gave an interview about this criminal incident and said that "The United States of America does no apologize for anything"
Right there he should have been rejected out of hand for the presidency. But that's not how it works in the Imperium.
1
George H.W. Bush did some nasty things to become President (Willie Horton ad which you referred to and alleged set-up of Gary Hart), but he didn't bring disgrace to the highest office he held after he won. There is much to be said for that, as we know from the scandals and problems created on almost a daily basis from the office's current occupant.
One thing Bush and Trump (much, much more so, the latter) have in common is both are 'nostalgia for Reagan' candidates, whose appeal is about recreating what Reagan offered: he made consevatism (of a form of it, ultimately "neo") seem energetic, buoyant and youthful, as opposed to stodgy and confining, and, well, old-fashioned.
It's all about 80's moneyism and materialism, and the Trump redux version appeals to so many (especially baby boomers who either had money in the 80s or got to bask in others' hanging around Manhattan, LA, or tasting of 80s decadence and luxe in Trump's casinos, hotels, tower etc, or watching it on LA Law or or similar tv fare). Trump was next to Reagan himself the ultimate icon of that milieu. He made business vulgarity and getting as rich as you can in business look "cool" to people susceptible to a certain kind of shallowness and stupidity (think of the hordes of ivy educated kids flocking to investment banking, management consulting etc)-- all have their inspiration and roots in 2 figures: Reagan and Trump. (The Bushes are the "in between" republicans, but Reagan and Trump are the "80's republicanism" and "80's republicanism nostatalgia tour" respectively, a lot like Billy Joel or the Rolling Stones-creating the illusion of permanence for -and tenacity (esp. among the 40-80 republican crowd) toward- 80s culture.
Not wanting to rain on the hagiography, but let's not forget that HW Bush participated fully and completely in Reagan's Iran/Contra scheme and then pardoned all the players to keep them, and himself, out of jail. Let's also not forget that he promised the Kurds and the protection from Sadaam after the first Gulf War (an unnecessary enterprise brought on by his own diplomatic blundering) and abandoned them to their fate.
Better than his son? Yes. Better than Trump. By a mile. But a mediocre, failed president nonetheless.
2
@Peter The Times will be building up Trump when he dies, too.
1
There is no comparison: A "wimp" who piloted a torpedo bomber that had to approach the enemy ship at dangerously low altitude at suicidal slow speed in order to score a hit, and a "tough guy" who fires back at any slightest insult, who repeatedly ran away from his chance to show his toughness in the battlefield due to a bone spur in the foot.
Bush and the modern-day Republican Party evolved together as a political force beginning in the 1980's. Bush was no softie. He was tough, determined, and a force to be dealt with. His ultimate rise to political power was due to sheer determination and he passed those characteristics along to his children. It was his ultimate ambition to see Jeb Bush elected president and his criticism of Trump's abusive tactics on the campaign trail caused him to take the unusual step of speaking out against Trump and voting against him.
With his own share of mistakes like the first Gulf War George H. W. Bush was a good President who untiringly worked to promote the US interests be it on the domestic front or the global frontier where he maintained the US leadership role with its benign influence.
The patriarch of the Bush family has died. A man of principle and character and honor.Well worthy of the media attention devoted to his life and legacy. And even better. For two or three days Trump is NOT dominating the news cycle. How refreshing.
1
If George H W Bush had won the 1980 Republican nomination, rather than Reagan, the U. S. and the world would be much further along on the arc of justice.
He was the last of the decent Republicans who cared deeply for the good of the country and understood the meaning of public service.
6
Among subsequent republicans who don't meet your standard (which I share) concerning public service or commitment to the good of the country is the one who defeated him in the '92 election: William Jefferson Clinton.
What a trick he pulled: be a republican, call yourself a democrat, gobble up all the democratic voters (who have no-one else to turn to by the general election, any actial democrats now safely out of the picture) , the entire center, and a substantial chunk of republican voters who know in their hearts you're really on their side.
Much as I loathe Trump, seeing things in this light, it's VASTLY, VASTLY, VASTLY easier to accept the outcome of 2016, knowing that Hillary failed to duplicate the same con (which would've been confirmed by the infamous Goldman Sachs transcripts-- the ultimate smoking gun).
Guess what folks, in this light, we're very likely better off Trump will go down in flames, and next time around, we'll get a democrat in office, not a republican in cognito. Believe it or not, those still mourning that fateful November '16 night: We may well have dodged a bullet.
@Andrew , Bill Clinton appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court. He hired Robert Reich as Labor Secretary in his first term. These are not the moves of a Republican. So he was not an FDR Democrat but the Roosevelt coalition was destroyed and gone.
1
There is an important thread that you have not completely spun involving Trump, Bush, Carter, Panama, and the Northern Triangle of Central America today. Carter bravely negotiated the Panama Canal Treaty, agreeing to turn it over to Panama in 2000. The CIA, I believe when Bush was director, made Noriega its man in Panama. Noriega overstepped and arrogated power to himself. President Bush ousted him, but importantly left the Panama Canal Treaty in place, hoping democracy could be restored to Panama. It was. Panama took full ownership and control of the canal in 2000 and built a new lane with its own money at a cost of nearly $6 billion. The country and the canal have became great economic success stories and democracy reigns.
Imagine if Carter had not signed the Treaty or Bush had taken out Noriega, but did a Trump and pulled out of the Treaty. Today we would not just be worrying about migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, but the whole of Central America from Panama, to Costa Rica, etc.
5
Let's be factually honest. The defeat in 1992 was due in large part to HR Perot.
8
@Northcountry
To use the passing of President Bush, praised here, as a tool to continue the relentless vitriolic and hateful bashing of Trump is shameful.
Calling him "clumsy," " goofy" and "hapless" is heartless. Saying of his major accomplishments "probably could have been done by anyone in the White House is unexplainable.
The paper of record has in this eulogy shown its true colored biases. All the characteristics that 41 possessed nowhere in sight.
How sad. What a shame.
Bush wanted to succeed as a great President, not just achieve the office and spend the next four years running victory laps and boasting how great he was as has Trump. Trump did not receive a second term but his legacy is very good. Trump has achieved extraordinary loyalty from 40% of the electorate and consistent disapproval by 60%. But his behavior and lack of consideration in office is likely to leave a legacy that will be poor.
1
Bush did not receive a second term but his legacy is very good.
A good and decent Editorial.
I especially thank the Times for deciding to both eulogize Bush 1 and to compare his leadership and personality with the woeful hucksterism, egotism and degeneracy of the current Administration.
I can only imagine there was a discussion about whether or not to do this. But you made the right choice!
It is a sad commentary on Trump that every time now a good leader dies, Trump’s legacy diminishes even further.
He may, as he asserts, attend Bush’s funeral. But woe unto him if he tries to upstage the proceedings. Being the Servant of a People is something Trump seems unable to grasp, let alone fill in the tiniest bit.
This Nation needs healing. All Trump can do is pick scabs or worsen wounds he’s already caused.
Bush Senior could at times sound a bit like a Schoolmarm. Too bad Trump never was on the receiving end of such admonishments.
9
@TheraP
I couldn't disagree more with you. To use the passing of a man many here praise and Bill Bennett says was "a great man with a gentle heart" as a foil to continue the vitriolic and hateful bash Trump train is heartless. This famous quote is in order: "Have you no shame"?
This is all just what 41 wasn't.
On the day of his passing to suggest his legacy included "clumsy," "goofy" and "hapless" and the ultimate character dagger of his accomplishments "probably could be done by anyone else in the White House" the editors show an absence of the grace,decency and kindness that marked his life.
How sad.
1
@TheraP- Bush Sr kept his crimes a secret, while Trump blabs about on a daily bais. that's the only difference. Good riddance to one and hope the current one is impeached soon.
1
I can imagine that below his tough narcissistic persona, the respect that so many have had for not just G.H.W. Bush but John McCain makes him feel like a rather unremarkable person.
Bush would have done a lot better with his domestic policies had Reagan not succeeded so well politically and had thoroughly infused the Republican Party with reactionary attitudes. Those attitudes reflected goals that would weaken government to enable private wealth and power to act with little constraints by democratic institutions primarily by slashing taxes and undoing regulatory functions. Bush respected that the needs of the country required more not less government efforts and more tax revenues but political necessities required that he show opposition to both. He tried to do both.
2
It all sounds so nice and yet, when I think about former presidents, I’m left mystified as to why, why have some or all of the formers not penned a joint letter protesting the influence of Russia in our congress, the president, and the election?
If the former presidents can’t cohere a message now, when will we see any light at the end of this tunnel.
4
Bush Senior knew when to end a war.
All Trump knows is jumpstarting them in such a way that they backfire.
RIP: George Herbert Walker Bush
2
with all the eulogizing going on, many seem to forget his (most likely) involvement in Iran/Contra, Panama invasion to nail Noriega but at the cost of blowing up an apartment complex populated by hundreds of civilians (https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/10/world/us-panama-civilian-dead-invasion-s-civilian-toll-still-no-official-count.html)
The demise of the Savings & Loan industry and let's not forget the senseless Iraq war, costing millions of lives and promoting the rise of IS. He will be remembered as the head of another corrupt family dynasty, only difference to Trump is that he was more low key and compliant with standard norms of governance.
2
(Corrected) Bush's lack of flair for impression managment or exploitation of the media to forge an emotional connection or identification with ordinary Americans, especially struggling ones, was, as you rightly observe, a decisive factor in the elder Bush's re-election defeat.
It is interesting to compare the two Clinton presidential candidacies, versus their respective adversaries. Bill Clinton and Trump turn out to be much more similar than you'd think, master image-managers who knew exactly how to slickly exploit the media to forge that connection & identification with struggling everymen, in a way not unreminiscent of Hollywood stars. In both elections, flash, flash, flash triumped over less media-genic candidates GHW Bush & H. Clinton.
The more you look at it, the more similar Bill Clinton & Trump appear: total media beings, personalities tailor-made for our era of focus groups, Facebook, and pure showmanship approach to politics. Both used a veneer of populism (I feel your pain, MAGA etc) covering a more cynical automatic, thoroughoing obeisance to corporate priorities & interests.
Not that Hillary had any more substance than Bill; she merely failed at his pseudo-populism shtick.
Of the 4 politicians I mention, only GHW Bush, for all his faults, will be remembered as any kind of authentic statesman or patriot, & fundamentally decent person worthy of the office. I didn't agree with much of his policies, but he had a certain integrity, decency, and autheniticty.
5
Bush's lack of flair for impression managment or exploitation of the media to forge an emotional connection or identification with ordinary Americans, especially struggling ones, was, as you rightly observe, a decisive factor in the elder Bush's re-election defeat.
It is interesting to compare the two Clinton presidential candidacies, versus their respective adversaries. It turns out that Bill Clinton and Trump turn out to be much more similar than you'd think, master image-managers who knew exactly how to slickly exploit the media to forge that connection & identification with struggling everymen, in a way not unreminiscent of Hollywood stars. In both elections, flash, flash, flash triumped over less media-genic candidates GHW Bush & H. Clinton.
The more you look at it, the more similar Bill Clinton & Trump appear: total media beings, personalities tailor-made for our era of focus groups, Facebook, and pure showmanship approach to politics. Both used a veneer of populism (I feel your pain, MAGA etc) covering a more cynical automatic, thoroughoing obeisance to corporate priorities & interests.
Not the Hillary had any more substance than Bill; she merely failed at his pseudo-populism shtick.
Of the 4 politicians I mention, only GHW Bush, for all his faults, will be remembered as any kind of authentic statesman or patriot, & fundamentally decent person worthy of the office. I didn't agree with much of his policies, but he had a certain integrity, decency, and autheniticty.
1
I was hoping, like John McCain's family, that the Bush family would not invite the Fake President and his "Be Best" companion, to the funeral service at the National Cathedral. They both should be parked for this solemn gathering somewhere in the depths of the balcony, well out of sight and mind, where probing cameras will not be able to constantly capture Trump's facial and bodily reactions to all of the implied, comparative criticisms of his corrupt, chaotic regime emanating from the speakers. His very presence, the antithesis of the deceased, will cast a pall over the gathering.
6
Bush likely learned early in life that treating everyone the same was important. He may not have liked Trump’s behavior but he would never let that cause him to compromise his own principles.
2
@John Grillo
By attending he’ll be forced to listen to all the eulogies and praise of a man so unlike himself and never under investigation. Perhaps he’ll wonder about his own funeral, as well he should.
Being there is the closest Trump will ever get to being among the type of aristocracy he’s always craved to be accepted by. But like MBS at the G20, he’ll be sidelined. A woeful figure among towering leaders.
Karma!
@John Grillo just because you do not like him does not make him a "fake President"
1
He was an old-style Republican. One could question his policies but not his patriotism.
How deeply the once-GOP has sunk since his presidency.
6
Disagree with analysis of 41s failure to gain a 2nd term. It was the depressed economy. Not his fault. And the the accent of slick Willy, arguably the best politician of the modern era.
41 never had a chance.
You really didn't need to compare 41 to Trump to pump him up. Not the time and place when your eulogizing his political legacy. Unnecessary and disrespectful.
6
He was a dignified man who understood the concept of service to his country. The current President only understands self-service and self-dealing.
I wish Trump wouldn’t go to the funeral. He just MOCKED Bush Sr. not long ago. Let the family grieve their patriarch. They don’t need the tension that Trump’s presence will create. And heaven knows what will come out of Trump’s mouth if he speaks.
When will we have a President who isn’t cringe-inducing? A Consoler-in-Chief. Someone with grace and empathy. Those Presidential qualities are so long gone.
As I was listening to commentators on television last night I had a thought. What in the world will be said about Trump when he dies? I couldn’t think of one kind, complementary thing.
4
Another contrast between Bush and Trump: Bush served and fought bravely in the Pacific war (he was shot down and floated in the pacific ocean a few hours before being picked up by a passing submarine); Trump had 'bone spurs'. I definitely did not agree with many of the policy issues Bush embraced, but the man deserves respect. Respect is a word that cannot be used in sentence that also includes the word Trump.
4
Although I frequently didn't agree with President George H.W. Bush, I always believed that he was a sincere and decent man, who devoted most of his adult life to public service. He was also a very gracious and civil man.
Sadly, these are concepts that have been abandoned by many of our country's current elected leaders, especially the man currently occupying the Oval Office.
4
The last of that generation of Americans, who truly made America the greatest nation on earth.
A man of character.
An American, who is not perfect, but both as a person and a President, served our country with courage, honor and excellence.
I am hoping that the current occupant in the White House, is an aberration, not a new normal.
The midterm elections is a good barometer, that civic responsibility, remains strong in our country.
That we are not going to descend to tyranny.
That, the better angels of ourselves, remains strong.
10
The notion of those Trumps being present at the funeral of someone who was an authentic patriot and gracious public servant really is quite jarring to me. Forget policy diffferences for a moment — all of our ex-presidents respected the dignity of the office. (Clinton not as much as the others.) But the Trumps. Never. They should never be considered in the same company. They have certainly not earned it and are not worthy of it.
6
I did not vote for G.H.W. Bush and probably would not now. But I respect his dedication to the United States. He was in the political game for the right reasons. The fact that I didn't agree with how to accomplish the goals just means that we would disagree. He was not the "enemy". In retrospect, history has shown that his instincts regarding Iraq were correct. I agreed with him then and still agree that leaving Sadam in power would have been better. Too bad Bush II didn't take a lesson from his father about how to conduct foreign affairs.
9
We are witness to the end of an era in American history with the passing of President George H.W. Bush. Although I did not vote for him nor agreed with some of his political tactics or policies, I never doubted that he was a decent, honorable man who devoted his life to serving his country. From a young pilot to the highest office in the land, he served with humility, civility, honor and grace. May flight of angels sing thee to thy rest Mr. President.
15
President George H.W. Bush steered the United States - and the world - through the treacherous shoals of the post Cold War World.
The Soviet Empire was peacefully dissolved, almost bloodlessly, through masterful diplomacy.
Those were no small accomplishments.
He never bragged, never complained, humble in victory, gracious in defeat, exemplary family life, military hero, successful business man, diplomat, honorable politician - and a great President.
8
Papa Bush was an honorable and decent man. I could agree or disagree with H. W. but I never doubted his decency. To a lesser extent the same can be said about Bill and George W.
Trump is the first president that feels more like a con than a leader. Trump's amoral attitude towards the rule of law, Democracy, institutions, and normal decency is a frightening turn for America. I hope with every moral fiber in my body that our next president is strong in moral character and embraces the concept of a servant to all. An American president must be a servant to all American's, first and foremost, to keep and make America great again.
13
President Bush was a very decent man and and a very decent president. He was the last republican to win the popular vote for president. Let us hope that is one of his his enduring legacy
6
@Ubius Actually his son won the popular vote in 2004
1
George HW Bush was a great patriot and a great President! One of my favorite President Bush quotes:
"The American Dream means giving it your all, trying your hardest, accomplishing something. And then I'd add to that, giving something back. No definition of a successful life can do anything but include serving others."
4
President Bush 41 was a distinguished American who dedicated his life to public service. He reminds us of the days when Republicans were honest and solved problems with bi-partisan solutions.
His parting ways with the NRA was one example of doing the right thing regardless of political cost. His raising taxes to address deficits was another example of political courage.
He was unlucky in that he faced a recession after the booming mid-1980's. After his inauguration in January 1989, he faced a recession that officially lasted from July 1990 to March 1991. About 1.7 million lost jobs (about 1.5% of the work force).
However, the total number with jobs did not recover to its pre-recession peak during his Presidency. The unemployment rate rose from 5.4% at his inauguration to a peak of 7.8% in June 1992.
While the deficit concerned him, he allowed the budget deficit to rise from 2.7% GDP in 1989 (the last fiscal year budgeted by Reagan) to a peak of 4.5% GDP in 1992, exactly what should happen when trying to stimulate the economy under tough conditions. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough stimulus.
Alas, an economy that had decided to pause temporarily in its explosive growth resumed it during the Clinton Administration, despite no significant policy changes. Clinton then conducted austerity, raising taxes and cutting defense spending, balancing the budget 1998-2001.
4
A short pause and consideration of our Republican presidents might reveal a pattern. Every new Republican president creates nostalgia about his predecessors as better statesmen. Mr. Bush has passed away, and his family deserves to remember his better deeds and memories. However, under his rule, one of the most savage and brutal sanction regimes was imposed on a whole nation. The food for oil sanction caused tens of thousands of civilian men, women and children perish, and it prepared the grounds for the ultimate disaster that his son brought to the middle east starting in 2003. Let's not romanticize a horrible legacy just because we have to deal with a horrible man as our president today. Trump is the logical successor to the line of Republican presidents starting with Nixon and including the late Mr. Bush.
10
Mr. Bush truly had some exemplary traits as a human being and made a few good choices as president, especially in not pursuing, as his much less intelligent son would later do, the Iraq war any further than he did. But I will never be able to forgive him for the cynicism he displayed in replacing the great Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas, as though it were a tit for tat because they were both black. The nomination of Thomas dishonored Marshall's legacy and contributions and forever after sullied Mr. Bush's character.
16
Maybe he did some good things but on his way to the top he played the games necessary to stay in. He was the agreeable, easy to use, trustworthy guy the big shots used for many dirty tricks. One was his being the lead guy to try and stop some of the Nixon investigations and actually try and save Agnew from prosecution. He worked with Rumsfield and Cheney which is not a good history. No, he may be less corrupt then many but he still was far from a perfect servant. Like most politicians he was always trying to get ahead by going along to get along. Its amazing how we Americans always reinvent peope when they die.Reagan is the best example.
9
And the last republican president that I feel could have dealt with the Great Recession
2
though jeb bush lost in 2016, after looking like the possible next president for a while, it is too early to say whether the bush dynasty has ended. it has been replaced by a trump dynasty that is rotten to the core, but the seeds were planted by reagan and two bushes.
@observer how exactly were the seeds of Trump planted by Reagan and the Bushes? I mean Please.
In the end President George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush stood up to Donald J. trump and decided not to vote for the con-man.
May his soul rest in Peace.
8
Bush, H.W., was a decent man, who served his country. What I think we must remember, though, something that we all know to be true and that is that "Caesars are made and not born," and the conservatives in the Republican Party, led by Mr. Gingrich had no intention of making him so.
I don't see much talk about Gingrich in any of the articles, if any at all, and fundamentally, this was the guy who cut off Bush's legs. The economy was already in recovery during the latter part of his presidency, so the perception by the pubic that it was not was quite erroneous. Mr. Gingrich contributed to that confusion in so many diabolical ways. One of the worst instances was when Bush had to reverse himself in the face of a Democratic controlled House that was pushing a tax increase that seemed needed at the time. Bush went along with it, and Gingrich sat in that meeting and supported the decision, but immediately after he left, he went back to the House to undermine the President. Bush lost a lot of support within his own party, as a result, and Clinton had an easy path in to the White House. Clinton was not much of a Democrat and lied about giving a tax cut to the middle class. He was probably elected by women who were reacting to the possible SC appointments that might needed to be made and feared undermining Roe vs. Wade. The debacle over the non person appointed, Thomas, did not help Bush's cause with women, for sure, but it did the philanderer, Clinton. Odd but true.
Perhaps GHW Bush passing can remind republicans what a decent and respectful president can be as an asset to the GOP. The contrast between Bush 41 and our current buffoonish Trump 45 could not be sharper. The legacy of Bush 41 is his good manners and basic decency which we hope the GOP will seek in future presidential candidates. The experiment with a novice with no governmental or military experience is becoming a disaster as we see America diminished on the world stage by a ignorant braggart liar. Bush 41 will serve as a reminder of what an image America can have with a diplomatic president cordial and respectful. Bush 41 would not pursue biz with a regime that was interfering in our election nor cower to the regimes brutal dictator. Bush 41 would not condone a murderous dictator to get financial benefits for his financial empire. This may the finest public service Bush 41 has provided to America a reminder of what our image on the world stage should be certainly not the blowhard corrupt con artist we have now.
1
I clearly remember the anger that Democrats (myself included) felt towards George HW Bush and Ronald Reagan throughout the 80s and into the early 90s. George HW Bush seemed like a decent person (as does his son), but let's be honest: politically, it is only in retrospect, and with the horror we feel every day under Donald Trump, that Democrats can muster anything politically positive about George HW Bush.
13
Clarence Thomas.
11
@Chris yup that was a big mistake.
Message: Trump doesn't care.
1
I wasn't a fan and disagreed with him politically, but I never woke up in the morning thinking he's an unhinged, incompetent, rude, racist clown like I do with our current so-called leader.
17
41 relied on the likes of James Baker, Larry Eagleburger, Dick Thornburg, Elizabeth Dole, and Jim Watkins, whereas POTUS 45 makes heavy use of his "brain trust" Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort, Steven Mnuchin, Betsy DeVos, Rick Perry, Wilbur Ross, Larry Kudlow, Ryan Zinke, Jared Kushner and Peter Navarro. How far we've fallen!
14
Can the times write an article that doesn’t mention Donald Trump? Give it a rest.
9
@Chris No they can't. It is all Trmpty, trumpty, trump, trump, trump. I was thinking the same thing.
A truly decent, patriotic and sensible man. So unlike today's Trumpublicans. All of 'em.
6
These comments are disgusting. You people have forgotten your history and the NYT is complicit in white washing all the damage Bush did around the world for almost 40 years
8
@Angry - thank you!! my thoughts exactly.
It could be much worse trump and his
minions could be around for the next forty
I'm sorry, and I know you won't publish this. . . but what a snotty, pious editorial to print within hours of the man's death.
5
His "share of mistakes" included pretending to criticize Reaganomics (Voodoo), then happily signing on to put the country into major debt.
Then campaigning on "Willie Horton" and "read my lips," two dishonorable actions.
Then pardoning his Iran-Contra pals, giving the world Clarence Thomas who he fought like a rabid dog for, and starting the fraudulent Iraq war for political ends.
There's more, but "share of mistakes" is letting him off the hook.
8
@David Henry, in the way President Ford set the precedent by pardoning Nixon (per Nixon's demands & perhaps, in part, based on Nixon threats to begin spilling the beans about "the whole Bay of Pigs thing" [or what he supposedly knew about Kennedy assassination, according to HR Haldeman]), Bush's pardon of the Iran-Contra crew (just before Caspar Weinberger and others were about to have to discuss Bush's own knowledge or involvement) now sets the stage for Trump to pardon anyone convicted by the Mueller investigation.
If Iran-Contra prosecutor Lawrence Walsh had been allowed to keep digging, it is possible Bush, Sr's direct involvement might have become much more clear and might also have shed light on the alleged 1980 October Surprise deal revealed by former Reagan-Bush staffer Barbara Honegger & National Security Council member Gary Sick. To extend the hostage crisis that may have helped put Reagan and Bush in the White House to begin with.
Anyway, besides the outrageous pardons of the Iran-Contra criminals, and history's inability to make judgments regarding Mr. Bush's work in the CIA given the CIA's purposeful obfuscation & disinterest in cooperating with legislative overseers such as Congressional oversight committees, Mr. Bush's presidency was overall balanced. Looking solely at Bush's 4 years as president, certainly in comparison to the 8 years of his son, Mr. Bush looks like a superstar. Model of restraint & fiscal responsibility.
4
@GRH Pardoning Nixon was a statesmen like act that spared the country the spectacle of a former president on trial. Most historians agree with me.
1
@Dave, the American people did not agree that this was a statesman like act and voted Jimmy Carter into office in 1976 as a result (and GOP voters themselves very nearly kicked Ford off of the ticket in '76 in favor of Reagan).
Per Wikipedia, "historians believe the controversy was one of the major reasons Ford lost the election in 1976 and Ford agreed." The NYT stated that the Nixon pardon "was a profoundly unwise, divisive and unjust act" that in one fell swoop destroyed Ford's "credibility as a man of judgment, candor and competence." Ford's approval rating dropped from 71% to 50% after the pardon.
1
George Bush had his flaws, but he was certainly a far more qualified and visionary leader than the current President.
George Bush deserves credit for environmental protection and for his collaborative and restrained approach in combating the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. And he wisely worked with Gorbachev as the Soviet Union collapsed.
Unfortunately as VP, Bush supported Regan’s most deeply flawed policies - a prolonged , wholesale attack on Federal government regulations and enforcement, “trickle down” economics and the Iran Contra scheme to circumvent Congress. As a former CIA director, well aware of the constitutional role reserved to Congress, his support for that scheme speaks for itself.
4
If historians treat him more kindly than voters did, they shouldn't. He orchestrated the first Iraq War by sending mixed messages to Saddam before his invasion of Kuwait. This was done either through incompetence or by design. Since he showed a capacity for incompetence, that can't be ruled out. If by design, it showed he wanted to flex the muscles of the US in the "new world order" and that would have included cheap oil.
He abandoned the Iraqis who he encouraged to rebel in the worst way, having his troops stand by while Husseins's troops massacred them, breaking faith with them and leading directly to the wait and see attitude of anti-Saddam groups in Iraq after his son's disastrous adventure.
He dismissed the idea of using anti-Saddam proxy forces, enraging a well-connected Saudi, Osama bin Laden, who warned the presence of American troops on Saudi soil would be met with a grave reaction.
None of these things would have happened if he had been properly held accountable for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, when he was supposedly "out of the loop." We also may have been spared his son as president who clearly and for personal reasons felt he had unfinished business in Iraq.
He allowed his Defense Sec, Dick Cheney, to severely limit press access during his splendid little war, giving his successors a blueprint for manhandling a wartime press.
Hopefully, historians will do their job, and hail him quite properly as the father of this modern world.
7
For those who neither remember H.W. or never knew him, you might well take this opportunity to learn what the term "service" really means. Add to that honesty, courage, competence, experience, humility, kindness and altruism and you will readily see how disgraceful a cowardly, self-serving narcissistic sociopath we now have temporarily living in the People's House.
I will miss H.W. I voted for him because of his intelligence and values - exemplars of the best of America. This was a GOOD Republican, not today's trash. He did not chicken out of his obligation to serve, claiming "bone spurs"; he earned his fortune and was honorably married to the same woman for over 70 years - and he raised honorable, if diverse, children.
Remember this every day as you see these values degraded by the Dotard and NEVER MAKE THIS MISTAKE AGAIN. H.W. Did not like him - for good reason.
4
Is this for real? No mention of the deaths of thousands in a war to protect oil and a despotic kingdom? "Removing a dictator" in Panama? Sure, but thousands of civilians died while removing a dictator the CIA had long fostered. One could go on, but little point: the Times, despite or because of its massive resources, prefers whitewash to truth.
5
Admired his war record.
Despaired of no mention of his despicable role in the notorious Iran-Contra.
Despaired over no mention of House of Bush House of Saud. How their long relationship enriched Bush for decades
9
Two words to temper all this well deserved adulation.
Lee Atwater.
8
@Charles Focht
Two additional words Clarence Thomas
I look forward to reading the Editorial article from the NYT, but not this one. GHWB's passing and memory should not have been drawn to reflect on the current occupant of the WH. His character as a President and most importantly as a person should have been the main theme and the NYT clearly missed the opportunity. Please do better next time and not everything needs to be a compare and contrast. Geez!
9
@AlisaVJ They just can't help themselves.
Panama.
5
Whether Donald Trump will accomplish a fraction of what George H. W. Bush did in his life in public office is doubtful. Bush strived for greatness, or at least goodness, while the current occupier of the White House seems to strive for discord and public disgrace. We have yet to see how Trump will make America great again. It appears that Trump is diminishing whatever greatness America had achieved by his destruction of the American presidency. Bush I exemplified what a POTUS should be. Trump has exemplified whatever a POTUS should not be. It will be a disgrace for such a low quality, ignorant buffoon to speak at the funeral of someone who strived for greatness and lived an exemplary life. America has sunk deeply and very rapidly from Bush I to Trump.
Stop comparing everyone to Trump. The current president's time in office isn't over yet. I'm tired of liberals lionizing the Bushes because they were less crude. There's a direct line between Bush senior's exceptionally nasty, racist campaign against Dukakis and Trump's dog-whistles. There's a direct line between Bush senior's warmongering and his son's, even if the former was a smarter tactician.
6
Domestically clueless and oh, my... Clarence Thomas sitting on the Court silent and egregiously incompetent for decades. A shameful legacy.
But Bush would have made a fine Secretary of State under any President.
8
Always thought he was better than Reagan, low bar...
Maybe sowed the seeds of Swiftboating & everything that metastasized into what we now have.
Nevertheless, a mensch. Pardon the cultural appropriation...
Bush 41 was an honorable, able foreign policy administrator concluding the Cold War, reunifying Germany, and crushing Saddam Hussein's attempt to annex Kuwait. He did his job, stood up for American values, kept the peace, and did not mouth off about it.
But in his own words, he lacked 'the vision thing'. Despite his strong political position in 1992, he failed to offer a forward-looking sense of purpose to Americans when facing a restless public longing for generational change (personified by Bill Clinton) and the unbridled lust for wealth and power driving the 'me-first' rump of the Republican party (stirred up by Pat Buchanan then torn to bits by Ross Perot).
26 years later, here we are: America is divided, lacking 'the vision thing', misled by a corrupted, narcissist baby boomer who personifies the self-serving wreckage that is today's Republican party.
America sorely needs visionary leadership focused on re-uniting and serving the public with character and integrity, someone like the two Roosevelts. We started going the right way again with Obama in 2008, but no worthy successor emerged in any political party in 2016.
With today's passing of '41', and the recent passing of John McCain, we are also painfully reminded just how long America has been struggling with the breakdown of the center-right in American politics, until it is now a corrupted cesspool where 'freedom' is debased into daily tweets that connote no more than do and get anything you want.
3
Well said. I thank you.
1
I did not always agree with President Bush, the elder, but he had more grace and commitment to the common good in his little finger, than our current President has had in his entire life.
God Speed Mr. President.
2
A major part of his loss for re-election was due to H. Ross Perot siphoning off a lot of votes.
6
Well, New York Times--I guess you're right. The man had his flaws.
"It's the economy, stupid."
I remember being dismayed by this little slogan. My goodness--twenty five years ago! The name-calling started. You don't just disagree with your opponent--you denigrate him. You heap opprobrious epithets on him. You call him "stupid"--something new in American politics.
Not only that.
Ever since Martin Van Buren lost his own bid for reelection (in 1840)--
--one thing has become clear.
The President will ALWAYS be blamed for a poor economy. He will ALWAYS be praised for a good economy. That's seem unfair to me--but there it is.
(I"m thinking of Grover Cleveland during his second term--1893 to 1897. Goodness! the acerbic jokes of which Mr. Cleveland was the unhappy, suffering subject.)
I remember the presidential race of 1988. When--with an air of rolling out his heavy guns--Mr. Bush alluded to "my opponent, the LIBERAL governor of Massachusetts." Almost apologetically--"Don't make me SAY this, Michael--don't make me say this!"
And then--
--the Republican party went nasty. REAL nasty. When you speak of the "tentacles of New Gingrich", New York Times--
--that is no lie.
Sakes! how this man has debased and degraded American politics. And the GOP--blithely, unconcernedly--followed him into the muck. But you know all this better than I do.
"A thousand points of light."
I'd settle for a hundred.
For ten.
For one.
3
Interesting that the comments will be about the contrast to what's in the White House now.
The difference between a less than perfect man, to an absolute slob.
1
He made his share of mistakes?
Quite a lede. I am not a fan of the man but what were you thinking?
But you are who you are. You all make more than your share of mistakes. Lucky for you but not for others that you have Trump for cover.
Can't you just make it about Bush and leave Trump out of it for once?
5
RIP George Herbert Walker Bush, America's last aristocrat president.
3
Do not insult a great President by letting Trump come to his funeral.
7
Mother Nature is good because she does not allow monsters to live forever.
4
Every time a world leader dies, who when alive The Times was vociferouly opposed to, the deceased is miraculously transformed into the greatest public servant and the paper of record shamelessly reverses itself. Its very Orwellian how the past is constantly being rewritten. Trump is not the only one who plays fast and loose with the facts.
4
The Emperor Augustus. Who was followed by a sorry series of the corrupt, incompetent and virtually insane. RIP
1
we should not gloss over his role as CIA Director where money flowed to various junta regimes that supported assignations, coups and military brutality throughout South America and beyond.
4
According to the transcript of the meeting between Ambassador April Glaspie and Saddam Hussein that took place on July 25, 1990, Glaspie told Hussein “We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait.” Did President G.H.W. Bush know that Glaspie had said this? If not, why not?
Has April Glaspie ever been interviewed since 1990?
2
Please spare us, in any of your coverage of President Bush's death, any comments that Donald Trump manages to emit. Spare us that insult.
1
and nary a mention of Skull and Bones?
4
When compared to the moral midget that now occupies the White House he's a giant. As a Democrat, I found many of his policies and his choice for an open seat on the Supreme Court disastrous.
3
It is wrong for The Times to downplay George HW Bush's racist Willie Horton tactic. That appeal to racists got him elected, it was right in line with Ronald Reagan's racist appeals, and it paved the way for the racist Donald Trump to be elected president.
For all that Mr. Bush did during his political career, it is his exploitation of racism that will mark his memory.
3
Compared to what we have today Attila the Hun looks good. To keep things in perspective, a few words: Willie Horton, Clarence Thomas, a bunch of stupid, unnecessary wars while ignoring AIDS, expediently adopting Reaganomics which he himself had characterized as "voodoo", all wrapped in an entitled, clueless patricianism. And then there was his son. Lets stop setting the bar so low.
8
Bush 41 was an honorable man and statesman in all sense of the word.
His record of service, starting with the Navy, through the UN and CIA, and up through the presidency is impressive.
It is hard to believe that any president could have an approval rating of 90%, and I attribute that to his moral compass and desire to get to the best solution.
1
@M
Americans at that time needed to see the US go to war and win it. It seemed like a good thing at the time.
Sorry, but when it came to domestic affairs and actions, George Bush never failed to disappoint all the centrists and others, who kept hoping he'd do the right, decent thing and always found out that he wouldn't. Civil rights, lack of Federal action on the environment or education, despite the all-too-usual lip service about being the "environment president" or the "education president", toadying to Big Oil, and "voodoo economics"...
Bush honestly termed Reaganomics' utterly faux policies as "voodoo economics" as a candidate but then proceeded to adhere to them as VP and President.
But it goes without saying that his policies and Trump's are light-years apart.
2
When I think of 41, what first comes to mind is his courage when going back on his read-my-lips tax speech, and the eventual price he paid.
In this memory, President George H.W. Bush stands tall, in stark contrast to the GOP's tiny mites beholden to Grover Norquist, collector of groveling-for-dollars office seekers and office holders.
Each Norquist signer turns yellow, keeping a rigid anti-tax pledge while watching infrastructure crumble, unfunded wars get waged, debts soar, as respective oaths of office take a back seat.
Maybe collective grief and memories will rouse some to resume public service.
I think that George H.W. Bush was a good president, and I am a Democrat. In fact, although I voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, I thought that Mr. Bush was going to win. But Mr. Bush was victimized by a really bad economy, as had been Jimmy Carter before him, and his son, in his last term, after him.
President's can't escape the political devastation from bad economies. There is no blaming George H.W. Bush for this. Had he been reelected, we'd see the recovery of the economy begin during his second term. If fact the recovery was beginning in 1992, but you couldn't tell that to the voter.
What impressed me, as it did others, was Mr. Bush's résumé, although résumés don't impress the average voter. Trump has a horrible one but the little trumpkins in the heartland just love his lack of capability. But having a good résumé is not a bad thing. I thought that it would bring Mr. Bush victory over Bill Clinton in 1992. Ask James Carville what gave Bill Clinton his victory.
But yes, we compare our current trump to those great presidents of the past, all of whom look far better than trump does, except to his mass-hypnotized followers. Trumpkins don't like the graciousness that Mr. Bush displayed. They love trump's insults to people, including the Bush family.
I met President Bush as he was walking down the street one summer day in Kennebunkport. He waved. George H.W. Bush radiated an aura that made you feel good about accomplishment. We need to restore that world.
5
George HW Bush’s single presidential term was marked by the First Gulf War in January 1991, and the end of communism in Eastern Europe, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. His foreign policy was dominated by the building of an international coalition in response to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in summer 1990, forcing Iraqi forces out of Kuwait .
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev praised Bush's contribution to ending the Cold War and reducing nuclear weapons. He and Bush signed the first Start treaty in 1991, which led to big cuts in long-range nuclear weapons. Last month, Gorbachev criticised Trump for blowing up the INF Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces in Europe, that he signed with Ronald Reagan in 1987.
Despite diplomatic success overseas, he failed to"rescue a depressed nation," which was struggling with a "deteriorating economy." Its decline had much the relic of his predecessor's reaganomics – massive tax-cuts, deregulations, etc. - to thank for. Unaddressed, economic anxiety drove working-class voters into Trump’s arms in 2016.
Bush's famous campaign promise came back to haunt him when he felt compelled to reverse policy. In 1988 he stood before delegates to the Republican National Convention and vowed: "Read my lips: no new taxes." It would go down as one of the most famous broken promises in political history. American politics and the GOP would never be the same ever since. May the last of the Mohicans rest in peace.
3
GHWB was my first republican presidential vote after three independent/democratic votes. He was the end of an era, a more elitist, constitutional, and generally more collaborative era. Bad and good. Clearly President Clinton began an era that departed from those traditions in policy (somewhat) and conduct (certainly). I have adjusted to the modern era and have come to realize some of my contempt for President Clinton was misplaced, my wish for those who despise President Trump is they realize their civic obligations, hope the best for our country, and encourage collaboration where possible. We are one nation. GHWB’s greatest statesmanship act may have been recognizing fiscal responsibility and reneging on read my lips, to his own political detriment. That view of Nation First is not present in government today in either party and it’s a shame.
2
While I often disagreed with him, I never questioned H.W.'s decency or commitment to this country. It's tragic that, in his final years, he had to witness the country he'd served for decades be taken over by a disgraceful movement.
4
I came to this Country in 1987 and the first time I truly became aware of the detailed workings of the system and its key players was the Willie Horton number destroying Michael Dukakis presidential run with lies and smear campaigns.
The other things I remember from his tenure are the invasion of Kuwait, the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court Battle and Anita Hill fiasco and the thousand points of light trickle down lies.
One thing I learned in life is this that a man whose mouth is perpetually angled, as if something wants to spill out from one corner. like GWH Bush"s, is not to be trusted.
To write so fondly about this oil man and secret service man as the Editorial Board requires a very selective mindset.
Did he redeem himself with doing some good later. Possibly. But that does not help the nation, only his soul.
6
Yes, I remember when President of the United States was a respected and classy position.
2
George H.W. Bush was in a way lucky that he died during the Trump regime and the shift in the Republican Party to the extreme right (the new right). With this current historical panorama as a backdrop, his presidency, a mediocre one by any standard, suddenly shines. In the context of the tragedy of present times, Bush suddenly metamorphoses into a great statesman (of the Republican Party) and a figure with whom the Democrats could work. I guess remembering is always shaped by the moment from which one remembers. Who would tell him that eventually his obituaries would be tinged with such nostalgia?
3
One of George H. W. Bush's greatest achievements is that he was the last Republican to have fairly won the White House.
2
Times, but not Bruni tells it like it is.
Also on the front lines of the war on Iraq they little buried the enemy alive using enormous sand moving devices.
I remember George H. W. Bush caring and campaigning most passionately for capital-gains tax cuts as essential to spur investment in the economy — as if the wealthy few wouldn't buy stocks & bonds anyway. It was cynical double-talk to main-street Americans, who never owned stocks or bonds.
His campaigning for a mandatory pledge of allegiance was cynical as well: he understood fully the logical and constitutional absurdity of a mandatory pledge — as well as its value as a wedge for divisive campaigning.
The race-bating of Nixon's "law-and-order" and Regan's "welfare queens" was brought to a vicious and enduring new low with Bush's Willie Horton campaign ad.
In office, President Bush’s appointment to replace Thurgood Marshall, a crucial civil-rights leader and the nation’s first black Supreme Court Justice, with Clarence Thomas, is another enduring, cynical low.
The NYT romanticizes Bush’s patrician polish to lob another rock at Donald Trump, and it rings disingenuous. Trump is the logical extension of the self-serving cynicism that Bush deftly brought to new lows some three decades earlier.
4
He was a kind, thoughtful, judicious man, eschewing the rancor that is part and parcel of politics today. He was a true gentleman more like Mr. Obama than W. The only bad thing he did was give life to an incompetent son with a bemusing ability to make every situation he touched worse. The elder Pres . Bush and his ilk will be missed.
1
A man of little or no conviction, propelled first by his mom then his wife to higher office, he killed many people in a pretend effort to be something he was not, setting the stage for the rise of al Queda.
True, he wisely helped the remnants of the Soviet Union down from greater heights with minimum humiliation and true he seemed to be a nice guy who wrote kind letters and flailed kindly towards people, but it is all the dead people of the unnecessary gulf war that will be his true legacy.
He is often portrayed as a great diplomat with one of the greatest, smoothest, negotiators known to exist, Jim Baker, yet rather than craft a resolution to the gulf war, Bush went to war to counter the image of the wimp that he was.
Real people died, in droves, real kids lost their fathers and mothers, real people were greatly injured all so that Bush could act like the ersatz warrior he never was.
Picking Clarence Thomas and calling him the best, most qualified jurist was more of the Bush pretend --say or do anything to pretend he is something he is not no matter the consequences. No new taxes followed by new taxes was of a piece with his floundering sense of self, always trying to appease, no matter the cost.
And the cost are real dead people and real ruined families that death and sentimentality won't wash away.
6
When the AIDS crisis began in the 80s, Bush, along with Reagan, did nothing. These are not good people.
3
"With the economy in decline in the winter of 1992, he told a New Hampshire audience, as if reading from a cue card, 'Message: I care.' ” Yes, a one percenter channeling Marie Antoinette, not a great move. Although Mr. Trump managed to top it during a meeting with school shooting survivors, carrying apparent preparation notes from his staff, reading in part "I hear you". Trying to hide Mr. Trumps narcissism is apparently a top priority for his staff.
1
To close to the House of Saud but otherwise a hardwood hammock in the swsmp.
Your decision to include Panama and Nicaragua in this editorial while neglecting to provide the context of Black Eagle and Bush's support of the Panamanian dictator is bewildering. Furthermore, the dedicated, lifelong Republican who led the Iran-Contra investigation squarely placed blame on Bush for massive obstruction of justice. Your predecessors cleaned up Nixon's actions for his obituary. Scholars believe that the failure to hold Nixon accountable for his crimes led to other crimes like Iran-Contra. Given today's growing evidence of a criminal enterprise in the 2016 campaign, we can't afford to whitewash politicians.
3
I always felt that Bush was cheated in 1992. The economy had already started to recover by the time of the election. (Real GDP grew by 4.38% in 1992 after a tepid 1.17% in 1991.)
In addition, Ross Perot took 19% of the votes and Clinton became president even though he was favored by only 43% of the electorate. We can debate how much Perot took from Clinton vs. how much he took from Bush, but Perot's conservative economic positions would argue that Bush was hurt more than Clinton.
2
Beautifully written.
We hunger for those times, even if they seemed uneven then. They now seem orderly in comparison to the choppy, turbulent times, without a distinct sense of purpose that this president brings. We must remember the grade he gives himself-- an A+ for his tenure in the White House. What a fall.
@NM
"We hunger for those time"? He brought us bin Laden and Saddam.
4
@Alice's Restaurant
That was Bush 43 not Bush 41!
I often disagreed with much that President Bush put forth. But I never doubted his patriotism and love for our country and his attempts to bridge the gap between disagreeing parties.
He always put his country first and his public service was truly exemplary. I had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Bush shortly after her husband lost the 1992 election and she was as gracious and friendly as one could be. Happily she'll be together with her beloved George for their 74th wedding anniversary in January.
My sincere sympathy to the entire Bush Family. May President Bush rest in peace.
6
I remember 8 women coming forward when #metoo gained momentum, claiming he had sexually harassed them. He thought it was cool to give the girls a firm pat on the behind for a job well done. I remember he was head of the CIA when it was still considered cool for that organization to knock off whomever it wanted, provided it wanted to knock off non-white people on the left side of the political spectrum. I remember the Willie Horton ad. I remember the 'deport the HIV+' law (not overturned until Obama's presidency). In fact, I seem to remember a lot of stuff you folks are forgetting, but it looks like people will have to go to somewhere besides the nation's 'paper of note' to read about it.
America's inability to look critically at itself and its leaders is exactly why we are in the situation we find ourselves politically, culturally, spiritually. That Bush may have been a 'decent guy' is certainly arguable. Compared to Herr Trump, of course he was. Then again, I cannot think of anyone who is not a better man than Trump, so if that's our new bar for throwing flowers then we are truly doomed.
This essay makes me wonder if anyone on the editorial board was even alive at the time of his presidency, or is capable of connecting dots at all.
37
@Earth Rocker the editorial said he was not a perfect man as none of us are. You ignore his accomplishments while accusing the NYT of ignoring his flaws. The complete story of his life is far more complex than the prism through which you view his life.
3
@Earth Rocker
You left out reference to Obama's criminal regime: Killing citizens in foreign countries without due process; using Comey-Lynch to coordinate with Hillary's DNC Politburo campaign on "the matter"; covering for Hillary's FBI investigation--"There's no there, there" and Strzok; Rice's use of FBI-FISA to spy at will on American citizens; Clapper-Brennan lying to Congress; Hillary cutting deals with Putin and extorting money for the "Foundation" while Secretary of State. Yeah, that "Herr Trump" is a bad fellow.
And with regard to Bush, you also left out that he and his fellows at the deep-swamp CIA created both bin Laden and Saddam--which brought us 9/11 and Bush-Cheney warmongers.
6
Granted, President Bush, an imperfect man, was certainly not a criminal, ill-equipped for office. He paid his dues on many levels. He had a strong work ethic along with strong family values. He may not stand out as being an outstanding POUS, but he did not shame the office and cause embarrassment for his fellow Americans.
4
Ho buddy, George HW Bush, who oversaw Operation Condor, Iran Contra, the bombing of El Chorillo, and the Massacre on the Kuwait Highway of Death, was definitely a criminal and if there was any justice in the world, he would have been excuted for his actions
2
The reputations of all past and future presidents will owe a great debt to Donald Trump if historians use Trump as a standard. What readers of history are in danger of never understanding, however, is the real significance of Trump's victory. This is one denial of reality that has clearly outlived a 2016 presidential campaign that specialized in denial. Trump was not elected by white supremacists or racists or reactionaries. Nor were the people who voted for him insensitive to the more vulgar aspects of his personality. Trump, unlike H.W., would not serve as a model for a Look magazine Thanksgiving Day Dad carving a turkey either. The reason millions of Americans voted for Trump was because they were sending a loud, clear message to the Democrats and Republicans that was meant to repudiate both parties. Many of those voters knew they were taking a risk, that Trump might actually win, but they went ahead anyway, so angry with a moribund political system that they closed their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and pushed a button.
9
@Vincent Amato
They pushed a suicidal button, and they keep pushing it with even greater doses of denial.
2
@Vincent Amato The majority of people I know who voted for Trump were not "white Supremacists or racists or reactionaries" but struggling middle class people who wanted to shake up a system that was not working for them. I am not defending the man but until we as a nation recognize people of good will voted for a dramatic change we will not be able to heal as a nation
4
@Vincent Amato: "so angry with a moribund political system that they closed their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and pushed a button."
...and continued the moribund political system with trump. Voters' clear message was that they want far more corruption in Washington than what was there in the moribund system. They got what they wanted.
Democracies depend on having an educated electorate. We now have trump fascism, thanks to the trump voter.
A man of little or no conviction, propelled first by his mom then his wife to higher office, he killed many people in a pretend effort to be something he was not, setting the stage for the rise of al Queda.
True, he wisely helped the remnants of the Soviet Union down from greater heights with minimum humiliation and true he seemed to be nice guy who wrote kind letters and flailed kindly towards people, but it is all the dead people of the unnecessary gulf war that will be his true legacy.
He is often portrayed as a great diplomat with the one of the greatest, smoothest, negotiators known to exist, Jim Baker, yet rather than craft a resolution to the gulf war, Bush went to war to counter the image of the wimp that he was.
Real people died, in droves, real kids lost their fathers and mothers, real people were greatly injured all so Bush could act like the ersatz warrior he never was.
Picking Clarence Thomas and calling him the best, most qualified jurist was more of the Bush pretend --say or do anything to pretend he is something he is not no matter the consequences. No new taxes followed by new taxes was of a piece with his floundering sense of self, always trying to appease, no matter the cost.
And the cost are real dead people and real ruined families that death and sentimentality won't wash away.
13
How about the precedent he set for our current president when Bush made Iran-Contra "disappear" with no consequences for the lawbreakers (including himself?)
9
'the moral and social legacies he left for future generations:'
H.W.Bush, as Head of CIA directed:
"Operation Condor United States–backed campaign of political repression and state terror involving intelligence operations and assassination of opponents, officially implemented in 1975 by the right-wing dictatorships of the Southern Cone of South America. The program, 'nominally' intended to eradicate communist or Soviet influence and ideas, was created to suppress active or potential opposition movements against the participating governments' neoliberal economic policies, which sought to reverse the economic policies of the previous era."
i.e. Overthrowing elected govts., installing brutal dictators. The legacy can be seen at the border even today as latin Americans try to escape the marauding gangs of murderers in their nations employed by these dictatorships.
10
I never cared for him as POTUS; to me, his most glaring error was not when he looked at his watch during a debate with Bill Clinton; not his appointment of Clarence Thomas to the SCOTUS; but his stunningly clueless reaction to the price if a gallon of milk, that time he visited a food store, which to the average person, created the impression of his failure to grasp their day-to-day travails, trials and tribulations.
But, no one, even,the staunchest Democrat can take away the equal reality that George H.W. Bush was a fundamentally decent and honorable man.
R.I.P.
3
@Ponsobny Britt
"But, no one, even,the staunchest Democrat can take away the equal reality that George H.W. Bush was a fundamentally decent and honorable man."
I can.
2
GW Bush, while I never agreed with him, was a gentleman and true public servant. He also serves as a beacon to show how low the Republican party has fallen.
1
@Drew Perhaps you mention the wrong Bush. Dubya is still painting away in Texas.
Whenever I think of George H. W. Bush the name “Willie Horton” comes to mind and the racist undertones in Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign. An unforgivable stain on our politics that must not be forgotten.
7
Bush may have won the '92 election if not for Ross Perot.
3
@Ronald Miller: Good comment. Perot got 19% of the vote (18.91%).
During the 1992 election campaign, a biased media followed the Democrat playbook and did everything they could to paint the decent and honorable Pres Bush as ‘out of touch.’
The end result was eight years of the venal and duplicitous Clintons and, ultimately, perhaps eight years of the duplicitous and appalling Donald Trump.
Tha nation still hasn’t recovered from the damage the Clintons did to decency in our nation and the cultural impact of The Donald is still TBD.
God help us.
It is sad and worth mentioning that the Republican Party has in many ways repudiated President Bush. He has been marginalized and not invited to speak at several Republican conventions. His own son called Chaney the best VP in history, despite his own father's having been VP. Republican candidates, at least before Trump, were weepy in their praise of Reagan but seldom if ever gave a shout out to the elder Bush. In my mind, GHWB epitomized the decent personal characteristics mentioned in the editorial and deserves much credit for his stewardship of foreign policy. In the next few days, to honor his memory, Trump should be told to keep his mouth shut and stay away from the funeral.
5
What happened to George Bailey, that we find ourselves living in Pottersville.
3
@Joe Gilkey: "Dear George, remember, no man is a failure who has friends."
It appears that trump is a failure.
What a contrast to the current occupant of the Oval Office. George H.W. Bush was one of the generation who came of age during World War II. As he later recalled, "It was a red, white and blue thing. Your country's attacked. You better get in there and try to help. "
As one of the youngest pilots in the Navy, he flew torpedo bombers off aircraft carriers in the Pacific theater, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism under fire.
No matter what your opinion of some of his decisions as president, no one can ever doubt that Poppy Bush loved this country.
5
The reality for all presidents is that every single thing they do is analyzed. That is part of the job. Bush 41 handled his life as a public figure with dignity. I was not a fan of his presidency, but he was a dignified man. The national Republicans would do well to remember his example. There are too few with dignity today. I know a fed dignified Republicans on the local level, but they are mostly gone on the national level. The idiocy of the Bush 43 presidency, and the insanity of the current administration, have driven the Republican Party, the presidency, and the US into a dark place.
2
One of the great indignities of death: to have the Editorial Board of the New York Times, all of whose lives inferior to his own, sit in judgment of him.
President Bush carried forty states with a percentage of the popular vote that has not since been exceeded. Let it be remembered that the Times, which has not endorsed a Republican presidential candidate since Eisenhower, endorsed opponent Michael Dukakis.
Let the Democratic Party remember that it must nominate a better candidate than Dukakis or Mrs. Clinton if we are to be certain that the present incumbent is removed in two years.
5
The article says, "Historians will measure the presidency of George H.W. Bush in familiar ways — by how well or poorly he managed the major domestic and international challenges of his time..."
Mr. Bush didn't manage OUR U.S. government. He left it to Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld and Baker. That is why we are in the mess we're in today.
6
Rather an incomplete spin in this editorial.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199209243271306
3
In 1988, I lived in Massachusetts, and was a strong supporter of Michael Dukakis in the presidential election that year. Yet, when George H.W. Bush won, I felt disappointment, not despair. And he turned out to be a good president, a president for all Americans, who succeeded in grappling with difficult problems, especially in world affairs. During the international crisis following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, I felt that we were fortunate indeed to have as president a man who knew personally every world leader of any importance. In putting together a coalition that included not only the Western Allies from the world wars and Cold War, but even the sending of army divisions by Egypt and Syria to the allied force in Arabia, he exhibited the diplomatic skill that insured quick military victory and the post-war containment of Iraq. It was a diplomatic triumph rarely if ever equaled by any leader. (One wonders what would have happened if Al Gore, with a rolodex as deep as George H.W. Bush's, would have been president after 9-11.) Requiescat in pace.
4
I was not a fan of President Bush, primarily because of his handling of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. We bombed Baghdad, the largest city in Iraq. This is to a great extent why so many Americans protested the war at that time. The invasion of Panama was also controversial. Bush was an expert in international affairs, having been the director of the CIA, for example, which may be why, aside from these wars, his international policy initiatives were successful. Domestically, though, he was not much different from Reagan with whom he worked to dismantle federal government agencies, pursuing economic policies that may have helped some but hurt most of us in the long run. Indeed, we are still recovering from many of those bad policies.
6
I met President Bush in September 1991 when I greeted him and Barbara off the presidential helicopter on the soccer field of my alma mater at Lewiston High School up here in Maine. I was the 31 year old mayor of the city at the time. I was a young Democrat, standing there with our Republican Governor John McKernan, husband of our Republican Senator Olympia Snowe. He was as gracious to me as any politician I met while in office, following up the visit with one of his famous personalized letters thanking me and the city administration for our welcome. I introduced him in his speech on education in the high school gymnasium. It was a time when Democrats and Republicans could still hang out together in a friendly way, despite our differences. It wasn't long after that that politics changed for the worrse, with the rise of Fox News, the Gingrich Revolution in 1994, the rise of Clinton partisanship, etc. I'm not going to idealize George H.W. Bush -- he brought us Lee Atwater, Willie Horton, Clarence Thomas, etc. -- but he certainly represented a time and place in American government that allowed for differences in views without the deathgrip politics that has existed in the generation since, a time and place that seems to be hopelessly gone forever as we watch our Democracy imperiled by the fascism of Donald trump and his administration.
16
While I disagreed politically with President George H. W. Bush as well as his son, I still respected them as decent human beings who cared deeply for their country. I lived in Washington D.C. at the time of Bush 1's presidency and saw that he and his wife did many acts of kindness and charity that were never reported. They did them because it was right thing to do, not for the optics.
What a very, very different world we live in today!
21
Umm ... Iran/Contra? The first Gulf War as a personal favor to his buddies the Kuwaiti royal family? Being in bed with the Saudis, one of the most repressive regimes in the world, because of family oil interests? Willie Horton and the fomenting of racism and the smearing of his opponent, a good man? The preceding brief catalog is off the top of my head from readily accessed memories. It would be a lot longer had I taken more time. Was GHWB also a hard working public servant and a competent administrator? Sure. But he was a son of privilege and a man of presumed privilege who had little capacity for empathy for those less privileged, let alone for the socially disadvantaged: an aristocrat—and I do not use that term as a compliment.
17
@mls spot on. Thanks for writing it so I didn't have to.
8
Whatever else may be said of him, President Bush had a deep sense of responsibility. To reverse his empty pledge of "no new taxes," as he did when he faced the facts, was the proof of that. As the Times editorial board suggested, the mere contrast of his life history with that of the current president is the most eloquent possible measure of a giant, sad and alarming debasement of American political life. Despite my own bitterness over what Mr. Bush's son did to the lives of several of my nephews, in this last presidential election I nonetheless wrote in Jeb Bush just because I was so utterly furious with the vicious slanders against this younger Bush uttered by the leader of the Revolt of the Gutters. Whatever their manifest weaknesses, the Bush family put themselves on the line, even when their weakness was in fact manifest. In death, George H.W. Bush deserves the accolade of St. Paul that even in his weakness Christ's mercy will be manifest to him and to his country. That is something our country desperately needs at this moment.
4
When I think of George Bush I think of Lee Atwater and Willie Horton. Why didn't Bush condemn that ad. Because deep down he was just as craven as any other presidential candidate.
9
message:he helped guide the world
towards rapprochement with the Soviet
Union, the fall of the Berlin wall and the
war on Saddam Hussein, kicking him
out of Kuwait and resisting the temptation
to follow him into Iraq. however, bad
message: Clarence Thomas and a naive
disregard for the economy which brought
him down. in the end,a flawed human,as we
all are, but the last almost universally
respected president. RIP,President Bush.
2
I never voted for President Bush, nor did I agree with the majority of his positions. But if we are to move forward as a country we have to find a way back to being able to argue passionately for what we believe in without demonizing and not speaking with those we disagree with. It was not until after his presidency that I read about “41s” WW II service (receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism under fire in WWII — “Flyboys” by James Bradley). That did not change my opposition to his policies, but provided important context to him as person beyond the focus of his four years in office. He was, like all of us, with flaws, but I do believe there is a need more than ever to respect those who enter politics to answer a call of service to country, as opposed to service to one’s self like “he who shall not be named.” Respect and thanks Mr. President. Fly high!
6
Even if the country did not compare the current occupant in the Oval Office with George H. W. Bush, President Bush would have a golden legacy of service to the nation.
He is the exact opposite of Donald Trump, in moral code, in patriotic service to the nation, in his ethical core.
He was a true war hero and a patriot, and he will be missed. May you have fair winds and following seas, Mr. President.
And thank you.
3
I was at many of the anti-Bush, anti-war protests that resulted in Portland being given the nickname "Little Beirut" and nearly three decades later I am still proud of that fact. What he stood for in terms of policy I wanted no part of then and want no part of now.
However, in retrospect, one thing I clearly failed to give him credit for was understanding, and respecting, what it meant to be President. I guess it never occurred to me until Trump took office that anyone who was actually elected (and granted, in Trump's case I use that word lightly) could be both so completely ignorant of, and at the same time be so hostile to learning, the requirements of the office.
5
President Bush fought for our country in WW2 and later, as president, brought his best efforts to serving the nation as a whole. I am not an admirer of his presidency, but I concur that his passing warrants sincere encomiums.
For me, the main effect of pausing to consider GWB1, however, is to feel the stark, stabbing contrast between him and President Trump. Whereas Bush was a man of character, Trump is a vile, indecent man, a calculating, venal man, a pigheaded man, a con artist, and, not least, a cruel and mean man.
I continue to struggle with how it is that so many Republicans have abandoned all regard for the quality of the person who occupies the WH, the way they did when they supported GWB1.
It makes no sense to me to say it's because Republicans have become upset about PC, or are stressed by illegal immigration, or are worried about their jobs, or the future for their children. Instead, I think a lot of it comes from the Republican party's philosophy that slowly turned old-fashioned greed into a virtue. Forget the quality of a person; now all that matters is how "successful" a person is. It's a hop skip and a jump from being personally greedy, and admiring wealth above all else, to backing Trump.
I read once that someone said Trump is a poor man's idea of a rich man. That's clever, but it's not quite right. Trump is a Republican's idea of a good man.
3
George H.W. Bush's stature has risen largely because of three of his successors in the Oval office - the corruptible Clinton, the inept son, the despicable Trump. The last chief executive from the WASP establishment, he embodied both its best qualities - decency, good manners, modesty - and its limitations: a certain blindness in matters of race, an emotional aloofness that made it difficult for him to connect to the less privileged. Oddly, the president with whom he had most in common as a fine person and flawed leader was Barack Obama.
8
Okay, the day the classic political music died. My condolences, naturally. Now throw another quarter in the juke box and crank up the rock and roll, nostalgia is so yesterday.
Bush was (and should have been) one and done because, as James Carville so famously pointed out, "It's the Economy, Stupid". Herbert Walker Bush was defeated for a second term because he could have cared less about the economy, and how it affected normal people. It was a trait shared with W, his son who had even less of an understanding of how the economy worked than did his father. Both father and son, bowing to Republican orthodoxy, substituted the market for policy, with predictably disastrous results.
It is true that Herbert Walker Bush decried trickle down economics as "voodoo economics" on the campaign trail, but once in office did nothing. As Ross Perot stated, "trickle down didn't trickle". It fell to both succeeding administrations, first under Clinton and then later under Obama, to actually intervene in the economy in order to prevent it from running totally off of the rails, first with Clinton reducing defense spending, and balancing the budget, and later Obama having to engage in open heart surgery to prevent a complete collapse. This was something that no modern Republican administration (notable exception: Eisenhower) was ever really interested in doing.
The significance of this malfeasance in office is that it lead to generations of people ignored, as jobs went to China but with a few getting obscenely wealthy, while both Bush administrations blithely played around in all war, all of the time. That was the formula for the rise of a Trump, as we see now.
7
@PB. This was a good ‘spin’ for the Dems ‘92 national campaign, but factually inaccurate. As someone who worked in Congress at the time (for the Dems), our observation in the trenches was he spent a lot of time undoing the worst excesses of Reagan economic policy such as mismatched spending, collecting 8 years worth of owed but unpaid back taxes (not only did Reagan ‘cut’ taxes, his administration collected from some companies at gross negligent levels). Nor should we fail to give Bush credit for guiding America out of the S&L crisis (again, not only did Reagan (and his appointees) believe in de-regulation, but negligent enforcement as well). Where Bush had difficulty—and Carville exploited (and Atwater had worked around)—was 1940s style modesty. There was evidence his domestic programs were succeeding, but like much it’s clearer in hindsight. Clinton inherited the rewards of Bush economics. Unfortunately for him, after 12 years of Republican administrations, Americans wanted something ‘new’. Overlooked and arguably most important for all of us, he was the right man in charge when WWII finally closed with the withdrawal of the occupying army from Eastern Europe. The rehabilitation George Marshall started in the West George Bush peaceably shepharded to conclusion in the East. A fine aviator, a solid statesman, and a Great president. If his shipmates spirits can speak, believe they’re say ‘rest easy, Cmdr. Bush, job well done. welcome home.’
1
@Franklin
Elections are all about spin, but (until Trump) spin was putting the best face on the existing factual basis (not alternative facts). And on that factual basis, Bush was AWOL on the economy - and it cost him his job. For instance, there was no cutting of the enormous, bloated defense budget under Bush (remember Cheney - deficits don't matter?), which could have freed up capital to work in the markets. Bush would not touch that with a ten foot pole.
Management is (succinctly) defined as the art and science of producing a good or service. And so, with elections, we get to decide whether or not the Republicans were producing that good or service. After forty years of a cold war, the country wanted (and still does), both Republican and Democratic administrations to do more to provide economic opportunity; not less, which is why Bush was one and done.
What he did was lie in a naked attempt at a power grab; let's face it- "read my lips; no new taxes". And he ate those words - publicly - as we all know. No real politician paints himself into a corner like that.
Bush, like Reagan, had a smiley face. But most Americans wanted better economic prospects, not smileys. Those chickens are coming home to roost with Trump in a now decimated Republican Party which, as a political party (much like Bush) has been lying for the past half century.
When one pauses to consider the vastness of the public service of George H.W. Bush, it is impossible to contrast the senior Bush's commitment to American ideals with the lack of the same from the current president whose name I will not mention in this space, thereby refusing to besmirch the departed 41st president.
Mr. Bush Senior did not do everything well, but what president does not? He erred mightily in his choice of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court but, it seemed, his heart was in the right place. At the retirement of civil rights icon Thurgood Marshall, he wished to replace him with another African-American. Noble ideals may sometimes result in ignoble results.
I applauded Mr. Bush's response to Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. The Iraq president was given fair warning and due notice; when he refused, the American president had no choice but to act. Desert Storm was an unmitigated triumph costing (relatively) few American lives and putting anyone anywhere on notice that American arms were not to be underestimated.
Another mark against the former president was the role that he played in Ronald Reagan's Iran-Contra disgrace. Whether unknowing tool or loyal soldier, Mr. Bush will have to submit to history's verdict as to what he knew, when he knew it and whether or not he counseled against it.
But set beside what passes for the presidency now, G.H.W. Bush is a harsh light of decency and rectitude. He now joins his beloved Barbara. May both rest in God's peace.
3
@Red Sox, '04, '07, '13, '18. Head of CIA, brought the murderous Chinese regime respectability, fought the unnecessary ME wars which continue, created the Bosnia and Ukraine disasters, his record is quite clear: another failure from the Old Line Establishment
1
@Red Sox, '04, '07, '13, '18
The transcripts between Hussein and April Glaspie are on line, Red. Please read them. The reality is a little more complicated.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/02/AR2008040203485.html
1
As a largely Democratic voter these days I am disappointed that the narrative on likely the best president the country has had since perhaps Eisenhower — including the most recent spate — is uncorrected. By a paper as esteemed as this one. Bush lost in ‘92 due to a split ticket — specifically the 3rd candidate Ross Perot. The ‘Clinton’ economy was in fact the Bush economy. The direct result of a progressive Bush tax policy. The ‘feud’ — earned in this instance — between Bush and Greenspan was Greenspan’s insistance on not lowering interest rates ‘during the political season’. Despite all signs Bush’s policy had worked. Indeed saved the country from severest recession brought about — ironically — by failed bankers and real estate speculators. Notable that the architect of sizable RE fraud and failures at the time is now the current WH occupant. As history shows Greenspan did indeed lower the rates. After the election. And revealed a stunningly strong economy permitted American policy makers to focus outward at an incredibly sensitive time of a global vacuum on scale of WWII - from Yeltsin’s barricades, Nunn’s nuclear warhead rescue missions, ‘how to set up a government’ missions to fledgling Eastern block nation states. Bush’s hand on the domestic tiller steered America (and the world) through an economic storm. It is a responsibility of this and other papers that integrity of this story is preserved. And the legacy of this fine American.
2
On the very morning of the announcement of the death of the forty-first president, this opinion piece, puffed with speculation about why 41 was denied a second term, is in poor taste. There will be plenty of time for historians to speculate about why Bill Clinton was elected over George H.W. Bush in 1992, and 41’s patrician upbringing and reserved nature will be forever listed among the reasons. To attack his personality today is an example of the kind of indecency which this piece purports to juxtapose in the comparing the rude Donald Trump to the decent George H.W. Bush, and it’s why moderates like me blame the left for the deterioration of the tone of our public discourse as much as we blame the right. Read President Obama’s statement. Publish an op-Ed like that. Reserve this speculation for after the man is laid to rest. Shame on you.
4
Even in an opinion piece on the death of a Former President and war hero who served the nation for several decades before, during and after his Presidency, this newspaper conveniently uses the occasion of his passing to emphasize the negatives of his policies and Presidency, and worse, to opine on Trump, Gingrich and the Republican Party ad nauseam.
Former Presidents Obama and Clinton have written graciously and with gratitude in remembrance of G H W Bush.
Perhaps this highlights just how far to the left the Times has drifted over the years.
6
...the fact that George HW Bush has the deaths of millions on his hands, yet receives such white washing is anything but a sign that the NYT is going Left
As someone who's not American, my parents would often half-jokingly say that Americans are so spoiled - if you somehow find Bush not good enough to win a second term, give him to us!
Rest in Peace, President Bush.
1
Despite thinking of himself as a Texan Mr. Bush was an old world Connecticut/Maine Yankee which meant dignity, grace and duty were part of your character the likes of which we will never see again. Too many Americans now enjoy the crude, the bombastic, the telling it like it is even if all lies. As a liberal I wasn't too thrilled with President Bush I but you often don't miss what you had until it is gone. RIP George H. W. next to your lovely wife Barbara. I believe history will be kind.
2
Read my lips no new taxes /s
2
I remember the media treating him like he was stupid, entitled, and out of touch. They were grinding at the divide we now live in and the media works tirelessly today to create. But he remained a kind and decent man, even though his critics nit-picked every flaw, which today they have down to an art. He was the America I grew up in, showing that he liked us all, in spite of the media's constant he's-out-of-touch drumbeat. The media continues to feed the tribalistic beast, giving us an America President Bush and his generation fought against. He never called any of us super-predators, gun-toting bible lovers, or deplorables, and his wife could trust him. But he was the one who was out of touch. Really?
45
It’s easy to use the media as your scapegoat—it helps you deflect attention from the horrible things GHWB did, both on the road to the presidency as well as in the White House.
It’s fine to acknowledge that he was, broadly speaking, a gentleman. That he displayed decorum, and some willingness to reach across the aisle to further the aims of the country as a whole.
And it’s also customary to speak glowingly of the recently-departed, particularly if they’re wealthy and powerful. But attempting to sweep away uncomfortable truths has played more of a role in creating today’s America than did unfavorable media coverage of GHWB.
7
@TD. No. Newt Gingrich is responsible for the tribalism of today. Trump is just a larger version of newt. (Larger in that he’s president).
5
@Alex
Oh, please.
The biggest creator of today's fractured politics was one Bill Clinton - a serial sexual harasser with an enabler for a wife. This country would have been much different, to the better, if Bush had won in 1992.
2
The first election I was eligible to vote was 1992, and I voted with particular glee for Bill Clinton. He was a blast of fresh air, after years of the old Cold War that dominated my childhood. Kicking GHWB out of the White House and setting the country on the “right track” felt wonderful.
That said, I would put ol George Sr back in charge in a second these days. His son could be Vice President, if only the Orange Menace was gone
12
not a bad pres, except for giving us clarence thomas.
10
I didn't vote for Bush but I will always respect his personal modesty and unflagging devotion to the nation as President. Condolences.
10
Yes, his success in civic duties far exceeded his shortcomings, and he shall be remembered fondly by his brethen. But, compared to his son "W", who took the U.S. to invade Irak under false pretensions, a disaster we are still paying for, he was a model in moderation and respect for the constitution. And certainly a 'saint' when compared to the awful and disgraceful bully in-chief currently in power.
10
Gee, couldn't you have had one piece without mentioning Trump?
8
What is so striking about the NYT front page today, is the picture of George H.W. Bush--- a truly class act---and right below, the picture of two thugs---Putin and Saudi Prince---laughing and high fiving each other. Right in front of us this morning we see clearly the two bars of morality in the world on full display---sadly we know which bar our current President favors.
13
Interesting, the stark differences between our 41st & 45th presidents. Both men were born into great privilege. They were given much opportunity throughout their lives. But George H. W. Bush was a giver, a doer for others, a man who always comported himself with the utmost of dignity & class. He was a highly experienced statesman & all-around good guy. It was never about money or fame. His privilege never went to his head. He had a gentle and charming way about him. He also had a great sense of humor. And he showed deep love and respect for his wife throughout his marriage and great affection and dedication to his family. I guess we all know DJT's story.
14
This is a really insightful juxtaposition of the two men.
@ELT Thank you. People make choices in life and that pretty much makes them who they are. I'm not trying to sanctify H.W. by any means but he was a man of honor. It is quite distressing when you think of what kind of a man DJT turned out to be and then became a United States president.
Every President adds their own touch to the country's K-12 educational standards. In my opinion, H.W.'s "Americal Goals 2000" was the best set of standards before or since, in large part because it included Geography, which is critical to understand our global economy, human migrations, and the impacts of climate and environmental change. H.W. as the former Director of the CIA knew very well that we must have an understanding of where things are and how they interact, i.e. basic geography. Every President since has watered down the geography standards defined in Americal Goals 2000, and once again even the most basic geographic knowledge is lacking in our educational system, and once again America is becoming isolationist and xenophobic because of our societal lack of geographic understanding. I didn't agree with many of his policies, however, I greatly appreciated his vision for education and for global understanding.
9
The Last Republican indeed.
George Herbert Walker Bush was the very definition of noblesse oblige.
It is hard to imagine that President Bush, whose party has always been run by a coterie of wealthy, highly successful, highly connected, white men, actually had social values and a sense of service to his country, even as he thirsted for the presidency for years before he was ever elected in his own right. So it was with Bush.
On the other hand, his distance from ordinary people was stark and to some, off putting. I will never forget that famous televised encounter with scanners at a grocery store, where he expressed surprise that such a technology existed, though it had been in use for years. The message was that Bush had never had to set foot in a grocery store; that in his world, hired help did his shopping for him.
Bush's gentility and breeding and his sense of fair play stood in stark contrast to his hiring of Lee Atwater, who was ferocious in the personal destruction of Michael Dukakis in the 1988 campaign for the presidency, as exemplified in that horrific Willie Horton ad. (Atwater himself, renounced his own conduct.)
Now, years later, Bush stands head and shoulders above the GOP he once led and its present constitution. One can only hope that Bush's life will someday help the conservatives of this country understand that there is another way to sell a political idea than to seek raw power and jam it down the throat of the opposition.
18
President Bush, as has been the case of so many presidents, was a privileged man to begin with, and yet he turned out decent and a man of extraordinary honor. He served this nation as her dedicated servant all his life, demonstrating for all of us what patriotism looks like. He does not need now to be regarded well on account of reference to anyone one else who has achieved high office and is/ was, say, a moral failure, an embarrassment to what this nation values most and is sustained by. In my view that would be to be guided by focus on failure, taking away the full respect President Bush deserves, while admitting our own sense of loss of confident spirit. Because of President Bush and in our remembering him, no matter political party and all of that which doesn’t really count at day’s end, we know as a nation our own basic integrity that helps us move forward in a way that strives to be ever strong through generousity and goodwill ... a hope among others in and for the world, actually. President Bush gave this nation leadership to achieve much that is genuinely good; and I’m sure it wasn’t always easy for him to do. In God’s Peace may he be at rest and free.
8
Thank you for a very good editorial for a very good president.
You point out that president Bush failed to win reelection in part because he failed to "convince Americans that he understood the depth of their fears". Our 41st president was many things, but charismatic was not one of them. However I disagree that he did no "summon up a coherent plan for addressing" the economic slump at the end of his tenure. President Bush's fiscal prudence setup the country for the vigorous recovery enjoyed and responsibly managed by his successor. He must have known when breaking his "no new taxes" pledge that this was going to hurt him but he did it anyway for the good of the country. Yet another point of stark contrast between his presidency and the current one.
18
His philosophical basis was "Republican" in the best tradition of the party of Abraham Lincoln. Protect the rights of a united people and nation, and let us live our lives. He was a traditional person who followed these beliefs of individual principle and practice. He protected us from threats abroad. He will be remembered as a good husband, a good father, a good Public Servant and a good American for worked to provide leadership in true traditional Republican traditions.
3
History will treat George H. W. Bush more kindly than we think. He truly cared about the nation and the people he served. While lacking the so-called "vision thing," he was gifted with trying to do "helping" thing.
He was no "teleprompter" president, his attempted good deeds spoke louder than his words. He modeled a leader who was true to his words, even though ill-advised about the curse of more new taxes. He was true to his wife and family and his marriage vows. His needed excitement came from sky-diving.
He came to visit our school back in the spring of 1991, recognizing our unique focus on putting each student in charge of their own learning. Pres. Bush took genuine interest in their work. You can't fool the kids; they truly treasured the extra time he took to let them show what they knew and could do.
In a world of words and promises now gone awry, we once had a President who was true to his oath and the nation he served. No, he could not pull a golden goose out of the hat to make more taxes go away. We have ourselves to blame for all that.
Geroge H. W. Bush left us with a legacy of service to others that still awaits a good and true leader's doing.
19
President George HW Bush was truly an honorable man. He stood up to his Party when he decided to raise taxes to pay for a war that actually had a purpose, the defense of the helpless Kuwait and knew when to stop when the purpose was achieved. He called out trickle down Reaganism for what it was, voodoo economics and for this he paid a deep political price, his presidential defeat in 1002.
Considering what the GOP became after this defeat, he shines like beacon in a dark world. Newt Gingrich began our decent into the partisan waste land that continues and and worsens to this day. His son in his attempt to measure up to the father began a quagmire in Iraq that his father saw clearly coming. For this President George HW Bush deserves the title of statesman, something no GOP politician has earned since.
22
@just Robert
The Bush road to Hades is paved with Lee Atwater, Clarence Thomas and Ronald Reagan bad intentions.
Doing the humble humane empathetic human right thing is the minimum expected.
2
Certainly a man that embodied a more dignified time in our politics. But I’m surprised the Editorial Board makes no mention of Perot’s impact on the 1992 election. Much of Perot’s support came from the right, and he garnered 19% of the vote. It was likely the biggest impediment to President HW Bush’s re-election.
May he Rest In Peace.
23
I'm nostalgic now, for the days when I simply disagreed with policies. I often thought they were wrong, but I never questioned the patriotism of either President Bush. And in stark contrast to Donald Trump, they seem like honorable men.
26
George H. W. Bush was an intelligent, gracious president. His CIA experience prepared him to deal realistically on the world stage with other countries and leaders. I'll fondly remember his presidency and his love for First Lady Barbara Bush. They are now together again. Rest in Peace.
14
A true, lifelong public servant, a class act, and a very DECENT Man.
Thank You, Sir. My sincere condolences to your entire Family.
14
@Phyliss Dalmatian
His 'decency' never applied to the many Latin Americans tortured and murdered by their militaries trained by our CIA at the School of the Americas to do whatever was necessary to eliminate leftist movements in their countries. Ask any Argentine, Uruguayan, or Brazilian who experienced life in their nations during the 1960's, as well as the many Central Americans struggling to end US predation.
1
I could list many faults of Bush, but I would rather mention some good things he did:
*Openly regretted the dirty 1988 campaign that he ran.
*Elevated his leadership as soon as he became POTUS.
*Created Paygo, which lasted through the Clinton Administration.
*Helped to avoid bloodshed at the end of the Cold War through skilled diplomacy.
*Created effective multinational coalitions.
If today's GOP were to readopt any of these approaches, then the country and the world would be far better off.
27
All I can say about HW is that when he came to a fork in the road, he took it. As with most people of privilege, their public persona is carefully cultivated to hide what they are really doing. He seemed like an affable fellow yet was at the forefront of what is now the party of Trump.
6
Bush was such a moral example that, when faced with a difficult choice, one might ask oneself what President Bush would do under these circumstances. Make the American Presidency great again.
21
For all the attempts to contrast him with Trump, it is important to remember that long before the latter the former found direct appeals to bigotry to be a fruitful thing.
And yes, Lee Atwater apologized as he was dying but let's not forget that Atwater had a similar history of appealing to people's worst instincts that Bush willingly chose to overlook when he hired him. Famously he successfully denigrated the treatment of the mentally ill in one election.
As far as I'm concerned, whatever else Bush might have done, he chose to set race relations back so he could win an election and chose to hire people whose sense of ethics was virtually nonexistent . How does that differ from the current occupant of the White House?
37
Thank you. So long as we sugar coat or completely revise history, we will never understand our nation’s true character.
10
@Ed Watters-I agree. Too many Americans are willing to overlook Trump's egregious behavior by calling him simply "flawed." He's much more than that, and we all know it. Bush didn't reach Trump's level, but who knows if he had had a 2nd term? He did seem an easy-going and likeable man, however, so maybe that's what can be remembered.
2
Steve I just commented noting the Lee Atwater/Willie Horton ad. It was despicable then and it remains so today.
1
While in retrospect GHW Bush looks like the ideal of the Republican Party at its most nostalgic, I suggest an appraisal of his historical legacy. All the stuff this editorial praises has been undone--much of it by his own inept son. We are now looking at multiple "cold wars" with competitors who are far more scary than they would have been had the Republicans dealt honestly with Democrats when the latter were in power (Clinton and Obama especially). We are also looking at uncalculatable global crises that could have been avoided with better and more energetic diplomacy during the crucial years of Bush II. Instead we have a rise in racism, sexism, homophobia, and just plain old fashioned corruption. "Poppy" was just as much responsible for this as anyone because he did not challenge anyone in his party when he saw the wind blowing toward radical neoliberalism, hypocrisy, and graft.
I hated Barry Goldwater but at least he was an honest broker: you knew where he stood at every point.
22
I did not agree with many of his actions as president, but he worked in a bipartisan fashion after he left office, unlike Reagan. He asked for a thousand lights and called out Reaganomics. His socks and his parachute jumps showed that age was only a number.
I heard one of his speeches today and I almost cried thinking of the Presidents we used to have and President Trump. President Bush and Barbara Bush will be missed- even by Democrats- but Melania and Trump will not, even in death. Rest in Peace.
Bush may
20
@Deb K. Rest assured no on missed the Bushes. Ask John Ellis Bush. Aka JEB!
2
I almost cried recently when I heard one of President Obama’s speeches. I understand your nostalgia for dignity & decorum in our presidents.
@Dancin’ Queen. I cried too....uh um ah Me ah um
It's what he didn't do about the AIDS crisis that I remember. After being booed at the 1987 Conference on AIDS for suggesting mandatory testing, GHWB turned his back on this national crisis. Shame. Shame. Shame.
15
@Peter Fitzgerald
Perhaps individual responsibility and keen self-interest among gays was the key to self-preservation during the height of the AIDS crisis, not what some president far from the point of action did or did not do.
This opinion piece seems to skew way too negative for a great man who just passed away.
George H.W Bush was a war hero, Director of the CIA, VP for 8 years and President. No matter what you think of various aspects of his presidency — one thing rings true — the world is better off for having his leadership.
I would wager he had more courage and character than anyone on the NYT opinion board. The board criticizes and points a finger, but doesn’t actually do anything meaningful to move the needle.
God bless George H.W. Bush.
15
Thomas Mallon at the New Yorker best encapsulates the importance of G.H.W. Bush: "Bush is likely to be remembered as the last President of the republic not to have been intensely despised by a significant portion of its population."
Sad, but true. I hope some day we'll be able to overcome the bitter polarization of the country, which is so destructive of any effort to deal with the real problems we're facing and work toward a better future.
62
@Ellen Valle - A terribly sad and ugly truth!
1
Ah, what a difference thirty years makes! Still juiced after fifteen years of organized protest and open rebellion over perceived wrongs, George H.W. Bush came into my crosshairs and I was relentless! But given that certain seasoning that comes with age and perspective, I will come out now and give him his due. He was the right man for the time. He was a kind man thrust into a moment of our history and played the hand deftly. Whatever perceived flaws we had of him at the time, we can forgive and be grateful that he was there and performed professionally, making the hard unpopular decisions in the face of extreme adversity and without regard for his own political career! Go gently George. We truly mourn your loss!
56
Yes, it's sad that he's gone. By all accounts, he was a good family man who formed many close friendships.
"There is no good death" indeed.
But let's not forget that, together with Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush was co-author and avid proponent of the so-called "War and Drugs".
This "War", which has given the USA the world's highest incarceration rate - even higher than countries that allegedly abuse their own people, e. g. China and North Korea - has resulted in imprisonment of drug users whose only "crime" was self-abuse with toxic substances.
Forget treatment. Prisons get priority in this country. Overcrowded jails, huge government expenses, utter failure to stem the rising tide of substance abuse and drug-related deaths. A total, tragic waste of money and resources, and above all, of humanity.
That is his political legacy.
28
@Ben Alcobra
I suggest ‘Just Say No’ might be something to consider when deciding whether or not to put opioids into your body.
And I recall the devastating impact drugs were having on the black community in the ‘80s and the increased incarceration rate was one attempt to help remove the scourge of those pushing drugs there.
1
@Ben Alcobra
See "The New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness " by Michelle Alexander; "13th" Ava DuVernay
When drug use was in the black community it was deemed an ignorant, immoral, immature, lazy violent crime wave worthy of imprisonment.
While white drug use is seen as a health medical health care epidemic worthy of treatment and rehabilitation.
1
May we remember that President George H.W.Bush despite flaws is nothing like the current president.
President Bush had command of language and a understanding of the world. As we review his life and legacy we see how far the country has fallen with this new crew of Republicans. The people wanted a con man and they have one now
Thank you for your service in Worlf War two and your service to America.
Give our best to Barbara we will miss you .
28
I was no fan of either Bush, but boy, does the current imposter in the Oval Office make them look good!
This is a balanced look back at some highlights, though it never addresses my doubts that he knew more about the Iran-Contra affair than was ever revealed (he was Vice President at the time and had once run the CIA).
I hope sincerely that the nation awakes and manages to find politicians that care at least a little more about the nation than they care about their personal desires.
29
He was a decent President and in many ways seemed to be a wonderful human being. In the end, that is what matters.
And t6hen there is Trump.
19
A great American and one of the last of his kind.
13
It has to be said that there is a direct line from Bush through Lee Atwater to Donald Trump. GHW Bush did some good things and I believe he was a good person, but he had a victory-at-any-cost approach to winning the presidency that changed politics, and not for the better.
20
Good piece but there is no discussion of Clarence Thomas - an embarrassment for Bush then and a tragedy for all of us since.
241
@Anne
He probably thought he was advancing the cause of black equality. He didn't realize what a shriveled, bitter little man Thomas is, devoid of any shred of human decency or attachment to the basic principles of justice. Evidence that black America is not without its share of bad people.
33
@Anne,
Two tragedies, actually: Clarence Thomas, and not talking his son George out of running for President.
29
@Anne
Amen. Thomas wasn't even the most qualified black conservative lawyer aka Larry D. Thompson. Bush's claim that he was the most qualified candidate was ludicrous. Coupled with his sexual harassment and pornographic fetish Thomas is a lingering legacy to the white supremacist Confederate legacy of Lee "Boogie Man" Atwater that Bush used to take over White House.
Bush's dark legacy only shines by proximity to the supermassive corrupt moral degenerate Trump black hole.
14
The comparison to Trump is glaring. Bush 41, by comparison, was a saint. His general civility, and measured actions overseas, should be guiding principles for today's leaders. But his presidency is marred by two events: the Willie Horton election prop, which forever sullied politics, and the persistent support of Clarence Thomas, which debased the High Court. Still, on balance, especially in retrospect, I believe he had a positive impact on America.
Such cannot be said of Trump, McConnell, or today's Republicans. Far from it.
74
@PT
Bush was opposed to all of the 1960's civil rights legislation. Thomas and Atwater were evidence of his continuing color aka race bigotry ,perfidy and hypocrisy.
1
@Blackmamba
Yes, I agree. But that has been entrenched in the Republican ethos for decades. He at least carried himself with a demeanor that spoke to all Americans. I'm stressing the difference to today's Republicans.
George H. W. Bush suffered from the same social isolation as Al Gore and John Kerry. Born into the top economic and cultural caste, Ivy League educated from the cradle, he could only talk down to "regular people" no matter how hard he genuinely tried to communicate. It was the more blue collar life experience of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton that made them such great communicators.
One hopes in the coming commentary on the life of Poppy Bush that some mention is made of his connection with the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, a name that arises from time to time often in a somewhat sinister connotation.
31
The details/history of the Bush family's considerable wealth has always been carefully kept out of the public media for as long as I can remember. Wasn't there wealth connections to the Saudi's that was documented in the 90s. We'll never know.
19
@Ralph Averill
" He was born on third base and thought he hit a triple".
Said about W but applicable to H. W.
3
His well-deserved reputation as a public servant, starting with his enlistment in the Navy as a teenager, will forever be tarnished by his employment of Lee Atwater as his campaign manager. Together, they played a major role in accelerating the corrosive politics of personal destruction in which the current president engages with such gusto. Atwater apologized for his behavior before he died; Bush never did so.
51
@PaulL
Along with his antipathy to 1960's era civil rights legislation and the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the SCOTUS was his raising Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice to a perch from which they flamed burned and failed under W.
2
Reading history makes me inclined to think most if not all our presidents are flawed, some much more than others. But character counts for me so I admired H.W. more than Kennedy and Clinton for example. But I disliked Nixon despite his productive overtures to China - and there are few printable words to describe the current occupant of our White House except that it is shameful his base continues to support him after more than 6,000 lies and misrepresentations.
37
@R. Anderson
All mortal human beings are flawed. Neither angels nor demons. Character counts for nothing. Action and inaction are all that matters.
2
Two articles and not a single mention that he was the only Republican(and not many Dems) who openly called out Reaganomics("Voodoo Economics") for the garbage that it was.
165
@Edward
Bush opposed all of the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960's.
3
He didn't stop it, Edward. Talk is cheap and we have learned that "conservatives" lie at will to get/keep supposed power. As long as their pockets stay filled to overflowing all if well.
George Bush, and probably most male "conservative" politicians didn't even know the price of a gallon of milk. Yet, THEY are in charge of OUR government?
WE THE PEOPLE are putting an end to their insatiably greedy, socially unconscious reign.
6
@Edward
" he was the only Republican(and not many Dems) who openly called out Reaganomics("Voodoo Economics") for the garbage that it was. "
Did did that as candidate Bush, running against Reagan, but then supported and followed those same Voodoo Economic policies VP and President. Massive failure of Sliverado S&L for one (on whose board, son Neal sat)
2
The NYT summary is very good, but I think it understates the fact the Rs abandoned him because he placed the needs of his country above the needs of his politics. That, and a third party candidate rich guy with zero experience, led to his defeat in 1992. Bottom line: he is very underrated. He served US well.
47
@vjskls
"...rich guy with zero experience..."
Scary how the past is prologue.
2
There was no more establishment person in the country than G.H.W.B. Coming from a banking and finance background in CT, he presciently moved to TX where he knew the oil/gas biz and real estate would be the dominant force in the economy of the future. As CIA head, he knew where all the bodies were buried. Anyone else troubled by the spy chief becoming president? Bush was supposedly in Dallas on the day JFK was killed. Interesting, what?
4
The Kennedy assassination charge is as ridiculous as Trump's asinine attack on Cruz's father. Mindless!
@Economy Biscuits, and was debriefed a few days after the assassination by J Edgar Hoover. There was a memo discovered in the mid or late 1980's discussing the immediate post-assassination briefing with "George Bush of the CIA" (not yet CIA chief back in 1963 but on the rise). When this was made public, the Reagan era CIA said it was another person with the name of George Bush. This other person was eventually located by media and determined to have worked for the CIA at very low level, GS-5 probationary civil servant. This Bush provided a statement under oath that, no, he was not debriefed on the assassination at all and was not the Bush in the Hoover memo.
https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/11/us/63-fbi-memo-ties-bush-to-intelligence-agency.html
Later, a 1975 CIA document declassified in the 1990's and discovered in 2006 confirmed G.H.W. Bush was at least aware of some CIA projects as early as 1950's, during Zapata oil days, and that G.H.W. Bush friend and oil partner Tad Devine was a CIA staff employee.
There is a hidden history of the United States that the mainstream media does not seem all that interested in looking at. Prescott Bush, the father, was also acknowledged as being very close with Allen Dulles, CIA Director for many years.
1
One final thought, George H.W Bush embraced the powerful message in Theodore Roosevelt’s poem the Arena. These words ring very true:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
41
He had a 'moral compass.' Sometimes it was less than accurate, but it was present. Time and history seem to magnify a president's legacy, good, bad, indifferent, etc. However his finally ends up, it is marked now by honesty, decency, humility and human imperfection. So astonishingly different from today.
80
Operation Condor. The man had no moral compass
George H. W. Bush was the last Republican I ever voted for. He was a good man.
97
@cherrylog754
He was the last republican I voted for also or ever will vote for.
I agree with you; he was a good man/american.
5
Same here. The last Republican I voted for as well. I admire him tremendously.
5
@cherrylog754
George H.W. Bush was no John Brown nor Abraham Lincoln nor Barack Obama. Bush has Clarence Thomas, Lee Atwater, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan hanging the Confederate States of America vulture around his neck.
6
No mention in this piece of Bush and his choice of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. 27 years later we are still living with this insulting replacement for the Marshall seat.
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@Rob
Because there is supposed to be a liberal black seat?
1
@Rob, well said.
4
@EGD No. Because there was a Thurgood Marshall seat to be filled.
2
Largely agree. George Herbert Walker made the odd mistake and occasionally had to make concessions to the more ugly side of his party but overall he was a sound representative of that excellent style of leadership by Eastern old money of the sort that came to prominence in the immediate postwar period when the US first assumed world leadership. The contrast with the current degradation that has overtaken the Republican party could not be greater.
77
A good essay.
I distinctly remember watching a televised public forum held by Bush when he was running for his second term.
Folks asked questions from the audience and he looked like a deer in the headlights for much of the televised event. Someone asked him what the price of milk was in a grocery store and he could not offer a guess. I was stunned that the event was televised at all because it made him look so completely out of step.
Words to describe him were: Oddly diffident and removed. Quietly elitist and wealthy. Of course the cartoonish reality TV president we have now is completely the opposite of Bush, but that is another topic entirely.
2
Sad beginning to December, but not surprising that George H.W. Bush has been called to be with his spouse and partner of so many decades. So much has ended that was good. A New England Republicanism that valued courteous discourse, moderation and a world view including a responsibility to lead the free world is gone.
Elsewhere I've read of Mr. Bush's request, while campaigning, to observe traffic lights lest people be even more inconvenience by his motorcade. Can anyone ever imagine Trump doing that. We are in an era or crass, lying, financial crooks masquerading as leaders who care not one whit for this country or the world. Sad decline of our country.
Rest easy, Mr. President and thank you.
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@JWMathews
Sad beginning?
Born into white wealth and privilege George H.W. Bush was no Donald John Trump, Sr. and lived to be 94 years old. MAGA!
Bush has some explaining to do to St. Peter and Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, Jr. See Matthew 25 : 31-46.
1
Difference from Donald J.
1. Bushed served in the military.
2. He did not interfere when the Fed raised rates to combat inflation. i.e. He knew doing the right thing would cost his re-election, but he still did the right thing for the country.
How distant that sort of leadership seems today.
Rest in Peace Sir.
83
@MoneyRules
Which President hasn't been better than Trump?
Bush deserves no peace for Clarence Thomas and Lee Atwater along with his antipathy to Civil Rights legislation. A real son of Texas LBJ can take credit for advocating and advancing that legacy.
5
He was the last honorable Republican.
120
@Norwester: Given the chance, McCain could have been another. If he'd won the primaries in 2000, the world today might be a very different place.
On the other hand, I'm obviously happy he didn't win in 2008.
9
@Norwester
Abraham Lincoln was the last honorable Republican.
8
Honorable? Willie Horton?
5